Republican Texas Rep. Lance Gooden triggered his Democratic colleagues in a big way this week after he slammed Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) for backing a controversial selection from the Biden administration who will lead trade interests in Asia, The Hill reported. 

The situation, at least on the Democratic side, turned extremely tense and dramatic as a coalition of Dem leaders condemned what they falsely described as "racist" remarks by the Texas Republican lawmaker.

Dominic Ng, the person tapped by the White House for the high-level trade negotiation position in Asia, received backing from Chu, which made Gooden and other House Republicans skeptical of Chu.

Most of the squabble unfolded on social media as Democrats banded together to unfairly attack Gooden.

Gooden's stance

The Texas Republican took aim at Chu during a recent Fox News interview after a Daily Caller report suggested Ng has ties to a Chinese communist front group.

"I question her either loyalty or competence," Gooden told Fox News. "If she doesn’t realize what’s going on then she’s totally out of touch with one of her core constituencies."

"Any Democrat opposing a full investigation into Ng is either incompetent or disloyal or both.  Stand up to China and stand up for America," Gooden tweeted Saturday.

Any Democrat opposing a full investigation into Ng is either incompetent or disloyal or both.

Stand up to China and stand up for America. https://t.co/n20lM6d8ke

— Lance Gooden (@Lancegooden) February 25, 2023

The Daily Caller noted that Gooden has also called for an "FBI investigation" into Ng for her alleged ties.

Chu's statement

The California lawmaker immediately seized the moment to cry "racism!" after Gooden's remarks.

"Rep. Gooden’s comments on Fox News questioning my loyalty to the USA is absolutely outrageous," said Chu.

She added: "It is based on false information spread by an extreme, right-wing website. Furthermore, it is racist. I very much doubt that he would be spreading these lies were I not of Chinese American descent."

My official statement in response to the racist comments made by Congressman Lance Gooden in an interview on Fox News questioning Congresswoman Judy Chu’s loyalty to this country. pic.twitter.com/cUrVwyDHHW

— Senator Dave Min (@SenDaveMin) February 24, 2023

Clearly, there's nothing "racist" about Gooden's concerns, given Ng's alleged ties to communist China. It'll be interesting to see these same Democrats back-peddle when more information is revealed about Biden's controversial pick.