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 (Bloomberg) -- Republican senators said Wednesday they want to move quickly on legislation to support pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong despite a threat of retaliation from China."Hong Kong is a high priority for me," said GOP Senator Jim Risch, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. "We're going to move on it as rapidly as we can."Senator Roy Blunt, a member of the Senate GOP leadership, said there haven't been any discussions about the timing for a vote on Hong Kong legislation similar to a measure that passed the House Tuesday. That bill would subject the city's special U.S. trading status to annual reviews and provides for sanctions against officials deemed responsible for undermining its "fundamental freedoms and autonomy."Following the House vote, China's foreign ministry issued a warning of unspecified "strong countermeasures" if the U.S. enacts that legislation and a package of other measures backing a pro-democracy movement that has rocked the former British colony for more than four months.There is broad backing in both parties in Congress to show support for the protesters and punish China for any crackdown. The White House declined to comment on whether President Donald Trump would sign the Hong Kong legislation, but there are enough votes in the House to override a veto and no significant opposition in the Senate.QuickTake: How the U.S. Congress Is Riling China on Hong KongThe next step will be up to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who'll set the schedule for a vote, and he'
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 White House spokesperson Hogan Gidley chided grieving parents in defense of President Donald Trump, suggesting on Thursday morning that the family of Harry Dunn was lying when they said the president "ambushed" them and tried to pressure them into meeting the woman who killed their son.In an interview Thursday morning on CNN, the Dunn family said they felt Trump was trying to "intimidate" them into meeting the wife of a U.S. diplomat who killed Dunn in an auto accident in the United Kingdom. A family spokesman further stated that during the Dunns' White House visit, the president's aides acted as "henchmen" and were "snarling" at the family.Appearing on Fox News' America's Newsroom, Gidley was asked about the parents' description of Trump's visit with the parents and whether he could explain why they felt the president ambushed them."I have spoken with the president directly about this," the White House spokesman replied. "It is a horrific situation. He offered his condolences to the family and understands the gravity of this moment and the situation. He did this simply on the behest of [British Prime Minister] Boris Johnson to meet with that family. He wasn't trying to ambush anybody."Fox News anchor Sandra Smith then wondered aloud if the president exerted pressure on the family to meet with the diplomat's wife at the White House."Absolutely not," Gildey declared. "He was wonderful in that setting."Co-anchor Bill Hemm
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