Members of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee met Wednesday to discuss what’s typically a highly bipartisan topic: protecting kids online. But in a far-from-typical political climate, the mood was tense and confrontational.

Republican lawmakers are eager to revive a handful of bipartisan bills like the Kids Online Safety Act, which House Republican leadership blocked at the finish line last year. Many Democrats on the panel support these proposals, calling them an urgent response to a…