GOP lawmakers are calling for the United States to shoot down the alleged Chinese spy balloon found floating over Montana on Wednesday.
The Pentagon said it would not shoot down the balloon, arguing it “does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground at this time,” and China blamed the incursion into U.S. airspace on a civilian aircraft that had deviated off course. Montana is home to sensitive nuclear military installations.
“It was a mistake to not shoot down that Chinese spy balloon when it was over a sparsely populated area,” Sen. Marco Rubio (FL), the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, tweeted. “This is not some hot air balloon, it has a large payload of sensors roughly the size of two city buses & the ability to maneuver independently.”
“President Biden should stop coddling and appeasing the Chinese communists,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) tweeted on Friday. “Bring the balloon down now and exploit its tech package, which could be an intelligence bonanza.”
A defense official said Thursday the intelligence value of the destroyed balloon would be minimal and that the Defense Department doesn’t want to risk hurting people on the ground.
Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) dismissed what he called “bowing” to China’s “provocation.”
“Shoot. It. Down. The Chinese spy balloon is clear provocation. In Montana we do not bow. We shoot it down. Take the shot,” he tweeted on Thursday.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) emphatically agreed, saying the Pentagon’s argument on safety “doesn’t sell.”
You heard the man from Montana.
Shoot it down!
The official response saying shooting it down could harm people on the ground doesn’t sell.
In rural America, there aren’t people everywhere.
There’s land. https://t.co/QPBfGuf6bf
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) February 3, 2023
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) told Fox News the presence of the spy balloon is “disturbing.”
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“Why hasn’t the Biden administration shot this spy balloon down?” she asked. “It’s very disturbing to know that it’s still up there in the air near our military installations. The time is now. Let’s get this thing out of the air.”
Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said the U.S. government continues to monitor the balloon closely.
