McCarthy calls out China during Houston visit: 'If you're innocent, using a bonfire to destroy documents wouldn't be necessary'

Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) vowed more action against China should his party regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives in this year’s midterm elections during a visit to Houston on Thursday, according to a report from Houston CBS affiliate KHOU.

McCarthy, who was joined by other Republican leaders, seeks to hold the Chinese Community Party (CCP) accountable following the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston two years ago by the Trump administration, per the station.

KHOU reported that federal officials learned that the CCP used Texas’ fourth largest city for its espionage activities, particularly the theft of intellectual property from places such as the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC).

"If you're innocent, using a bonfire to destroy documents wouldn't be necessary but that's what we saw at the consulate," McCarthy said, the station reported.

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Houston), whose congressional district stretches from northwest Harris County to the Greater Austin region, echoed then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s description of China’s former Houston outpost.

"The Houston consulate was a hub in the den of spies as Secretary Pompeo called it," McCaul said, KHOU reported.

Per the station, the GOP asserts that espionage is occurring nationwide, placing the blame at the foot of the current administration.

The leaders acknowledged the increase of anti-Asian hate crimes since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.

"It's very important not to discriminate," McCaul said, according to KHOU. "It's not about the people of China, it's about the Communist Party of China. We have to say that over and over."

McCarthy said the GOP has “a number of proposals” to return the supply chain back to the U.S.