Chinese Communist Party Sanctions Trump Officials, Republican Lawmakers Demand Strong Response from Biden

President Joe Biden‘s administration faced Republican pressure on his second day in office: The Chinese Communist Party announced it would sanction officials from the outgoing Trump administration, and Republican lawmakers demanded a strong response from the Biden Administration.

Reuters reports that Biden took office yesterday, and the Chinese Communist Party immediately announced that it would sanction 28 members of the Trump Administration, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The Biden administration is seeking Republican support for its policies to “outsmart” the Communist Party, but has so far responded to the sanctions with “futile and cynical” statements and calls for bipartisan condemnation.

The new administration also said that the CCP’s announcement on Biden’s inauguration day appeared to be an attempt to create a bipartisan divide in the United States.

Senate Foreign Affairs Committee senior Republican Jim Risch tweeted that Beijing “is already testing the Biden administration’s resolve to continue to take a tougher, more competitive approach to the Chinese Communist Party.

He said, “Republicans and Democrats must come together to show Beijing that we will not back down and will defend American interests.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the Chinese Communist Party sanctions are “a brazen and baseless attempt to silence and intimidate” officials who hold the Communist Party of China responsible for genocide and the suppression of Hong Kong‘s crimes.

In his final weeks in office, Pompeo took a series of steps against the Chinese Communist Party, which he called “genocide and Crimes Against Humanity” against Uighur Muslims on April 19.

Biden’s choice for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said he agreed with Pompeo’s statement.

A Republican House Foreign Affairs Committee staffer said the U.S. response could include counter-sanctions or a tightening of existing measures, adding that the Communist Party’s moves have escalated tensions.