House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) is demanding details from the State Department over its reported decision to withhold actions aimed at confronting threats from communist China.
In a letter made public on May 24, McCaul cited a recent Reuters report saying the State Department “held back human rights-related sanctions, export controls, and other sensitive actions to try to limit damage to the U.S.-China relationship.”
The report quoted Rick Waters, deputy assistant secretary of State for China and Taiwan, telling staff in an email that “Guidance from S (Secretary of State) is to push non-balloon actions to the right so we can focus on symmetric and calibrated response. We can revisit other actions in a few weeks.” The email was dated Feb. 6, two days after the United States shot down the Chinese spy balloon and three days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a planned trip to Beijing over the balloon episode….