House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) called for a briefing of the “Gang of Eight,” a group of congressional leaders updated on intelligence by the executive branch, after government officials said a Chinese spy balloon was spotted over Montana on Thursday.
The Pentagon said it is tracking a suspected Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon over the continental United States that is floating at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a threat to people below.
“China’s brazen disregard for U.S. sovereignty is a destabilizing action that must be addressed, and President Biden cannot be silent,” McCarthy tweeted Thursday night. “I am requesting a Gang of Eight briefing.”
China’s brazen disregard for U.S. sovereignty is a destabilizing action that must be addressed, and President Biden cannot be silent.
I am requesting a Gang of Eight briefing. https://t.co/KarTCUzbOS
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) February 3, 2023
CANADA MONITORING POSSIBLE SECOND CHINESE SURVEILLANCE CRAFT OVER ITS AIRSPACE
A defense official told NBC the balloon entered America’s airspace over Alaska before flying over Canada and then Montana, where it was apparently surveilling Malmstrom Air Force Base, which contains nuclear-missile silos.
President Joe Biden was briefed on the situation and is evaluating military options. According to the Wall Street Journal, Biden initially ordered the balloon to be shot down, but the Pentagon was concerned it could cause civilian casualties.
Staff for the “Gang of Eight” lawmakers were briefed on Thursday afternoon in an effort to get information to Congress quickly, a U.S. official told the Washington Examiner. Additional briefings have been offered.
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, demanding a full briefing on the situation on Thursday night.
“The fact that this balloon was occupying Montana airspace creates significant concern that Malmstrom Air Force Base (AFB) and the United States’ intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) fields are the target of this intelligence gathering mission,” Daines wrote in the letter.
China sought to defuse tensions with the U.S., claiming the balloon was used for civilian research and that the balloon had “deviated far from its planned course.”
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“It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological purposes,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course. The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure.”
Several Republican lawmakers have urged the Biden administration to shoot the balloon down, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Ryan Zinke of Montana.
