The House committee tasked with addressing U.S. relations with China is at risk of losing momentum and relevance due to partisan infighting, legislative dysfunction, and significant disagreements with Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
The House China Select Committee, established two years ago to develop strategies and shape legislation to counter Beijing, has enjoyed a rare reputation for bipartisanship and legislative success. However, that reputation is now under threat.
Partisan agendas have begun to influence which legislation the committee attempts to advance. The incoming Trump administration, despite pledging to be tough on China, is expected to prioritize different issues, making it challenging for the committee to secure support from Trump-friendly Republicans.
The committee has also lost some of the initial drive and mystique that helped it garner broad support in Congress. “The sheen is gone, and the work is slowing down,” said a China committee staffer who requested anonymity. “It seems like the committee has lost its mojo.”
This loss of momentum is concerning as the committee needs to achieve its goals under the Trump administration. The China Select Committee’s key initiatives have included fortifying Taiwan against a potential Chinese invasion and rallying congressional opposition to the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok.
President-elect Trump, however, has stated that Taiwan needs to do more for its own defense and has pledged to “save TikTok” during his campaign. His close adviser, Elon Musk, has business interests in China that some lawmakers and former officials believe could lead him to influence Trump to downplay U.S. security concerns to maintain good relations with Beijing.
“Trump’s statements on China and Taiwan, and his relationship with people like Musk who have interests in China, say it all,” said committee member Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.).
The committee, launched in January 2022 with a two-year mandate, quickly produced bipartisan legislative proposals on Taiwan, fentanyl, human rights, and countering China’s growing military power. These proposals turned into bills targeting U.S. investment in China and the de minimis import tax loophole, which have bipartisan support and are expected to become law.
The China committee has been “by far the least partisan” on Capitol Hill, said Rush Doshi, a former National Security Council official on China policy in the Biden administration. However, this bipartisanship is already starting to erode.
In September, House Speaker Mike Johnson’s “China Week” resulted in a flood of legislation that mostly favored GOP priorities, such as reviving a controversial Justice Department initiative to identify potential Beijing-backed spies. Ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) criticized the effort, saying, “China week became weak on China” for failing to prioritize strong bipartisan legislation.
Democrats fear that Republican triumphalism following their electoral victories will make them less willing to compromise on China-related issues. Committee Chair John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) downplayed concerns of partisan infighting, stating, “I have members on both sides of the aisle asking me, ‘How can we get on the China committee?’ People recognize this is the one place where there actually is bipartisanship.”
House Speaker Johnson has committed to renewing the committee for another two years, which some say has reduced the urgency that initially fueled the committee’s work. “There is not quite the same sense of urgency now that people assume it will stick around for the next few years,” said a Republican committee member who requested anonymity.
The committee’s marquee achievement — a bipartisan law that will ban TikTok in the U.S. if its Chinese owner doesn’t sell the company before inauguration day — is under threat. TikTok users, along with TikTok and its parent company ByteDance, have taken a case to the Supreme Court, alleging the law is unconstitutional. The court will begin hearing arguments on Jan. 10, but it is uncertain when it will rule.
Despite starting the campaign against TikTok during his first administration, Trump has recently expressed support for the platform, praising its role in his campaign. Even if the Supreme Court upholds the ban, Trump could delay its implementation. The law allows the president to grant a one-time postponement of the ban by up to 90 days for reasons including “evidence of significant progress” by ByteDance in finding a non-Chinese buyer for the app.
Moolenaar sees this possibility as a way for Trump to address national security concerns without shutting down the platform. Trump, Moolenaar said, dislikes the Chinese Communist Party’s influence on TikTok but wants to see it available in America.
There is also concern about whether Elon Musk, who has significant investments in China through Tesla, will influence China policy and committee proposals. Democrats on the committee expect Musk to push a business-friendly approach to China. Ret. Adm. Mike Studeman, former commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence, warned that Musk is “compromised and co-opted by the Chinese.”
Republican committee members argue that Musk will focus on his role as co-chair of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency rather than meddling in China policy. However, it remains unclear whether Musk will prioritize national security interests over his personal business interests.
In recent months, TikTok’s CEO has reportedly sought to backchannel with Musk about navigating the Trump era, given Musk’s unprecedented access to Trump’s inner circle. Musk also fueled an online frenzy against a stopgap federal funding bill, temporarily derailing efforts to prevent a government shutdown. Both the bill and the final package were stripped of numerous provisions championed by China hawks.
Like Trump, Musk has a murkier position on Taiwan than many on the committee. He favors surrendering Taiwan to China as a “special administrative zone” akin to Hong Kong, believing this could avert a war that might harm his China-based Tesla operations.
Moolenaar plans to focus on a narrower range of issues that address key national security challenges identified by the committee. This includes pushing for a bill to strip China of its “Most Favored Nation” trade status, a move backed by Trump, which would allow for tariffs of up to 100 percent. Moolenaar also aims to rally support for increasing U.S.-backed infrastructure investments worldwide to provide an alternative to Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative.
The success of this agenda may hinge on maintaining bipartisanship in the Trump era, despite the GOP’s control of Congress and the incoming president’s hyper-partisan approach. “I’m hopeful that folks around here will return to the notion that the only entity that benefits from our divisions is the Chinese Communist Party,” said Krishnamoorthi.
What should have been the committee’s champagne moment instead turned into “an entirely partisan affair” that was “cheap messaging over substantive policy,” said committee member Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.).