GOP demands Biden speak to the public on spy balloons – says more shoot-downs are ‘probably’ coming’

Republican senators are increasing pressure on President Biden to address the public after four floating objects were shot down over the US in a matter of eight days.

The GOP has questioned why the military suddenly started shooting down the objects, even though they have likely been entering US airspace for years, and why they are learning about most of the developments in the media. .

Kansas Senator Roger Marshall has claimed that the Biden administration is “instilling fear” about fighter jet downings to divert attention from scandals like Hunter Biden’s business dealings and laptop.

Another Republican senator, John Kennedy of Louisiana, says the US is still trying to find the “remains” of the three unidentified objects shot down over the weekend.

The White House said Tuesday there was “no indication” that the most recent objects shot down by warplanes over Lake Huron, Alaska and Canada were Chinese or used for spying.

The Chinese spy balloon drifts into the ocean after being shot down off the coast of Surfside Beach, South Carolina, USA, on February 4, 2023.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the “main explanation” was that they are “commercial or benign” but was unable to provide further details as the Pentagon tries to recover the debris.

“I once again urge President Biden to speak directly on camera to the American people today, just as previous presidents have done at similar times,” Sen.

Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, told reporters.

‘Just as Ronald Reagan explained what happened when Soviet Russia shot down a Korean Airlines flight in 1983, as George Bush spoke to the American people after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990. President Biden needs to explain to the American people why what you are doing what you have been doing. doing.’

Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, told reporters after a confidential Senate briefing that he learned that at least one of the air-fired objects had a payload attached.

“They will not send the balloons for Valentine’s Day,” Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican, told reporters, asking Biden to address the public.

Marshall then touted the idea that the White House could be leaving a trail of unanswered questions as it spreads fear to “detour” from what it says are “bigger” issues, like Hunter Biden’s laptop.

“I’m concerned that they’re using this as more scaremongering … to divert attention from other very important issues going on here, like what’s going on with Hunter’s laptop.”

Marshall added: “Right now, Americans don’t know: are these celestial beings from foreign worlds, or is it just one more thing from China?”

But another Republican made the opposite claim: that the Biden administration was not taking security threats seriously enough.

“The president has said that what happened with the Chinese spy balloon was not a major security breach,” Sen. John Barrasso, chairman of the Republican Conference, said at a news conference. ‘This was a major security breach in the United States in violation of our airspace. It was deliberate. It was intentional. He was consistent.

‘[Biden] he said he did the right thing. I say he did the weak. They only shot down the Chinese spy balloon after public pressure demanded it is a total violation of our integrity as a nation. And the president’s indifference and inaction shows weakness, not just for China but for the world.”

Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Republicans were being “premature” in their criticism as intelligence officials were still gathering information. “Some of them are unfortunately being political.”

Cotton said he had heard “contradictory” information from the intelligence community.

‘For one thing, the administration says we don’t know what these last three objects are yet and we don’t want to characterize them until we get them back. But on the other hand, it wasn’t a threat,’ Cotton said.

Both things cannot be true. That is why it is urgent that President Biden resolve these contradictions.’

“They won’t be sending out the balloons for Valentine’s Day,” Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican, told reporters, calling on Biden to address the public.

U.S. Navy Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 prepare to conduct a debris search during recovery efforts for the wreckage of a Chinese high-altitude balloon shot down by the United States Air Force. US off the coast of South Carolina during salvage and research operations in February. In this image released by the US Navy in Washington, USA, February 13, 2023, February 7, 2023

The senators largely said that, according to the report, they believed spy balloons and other floating spyware had been entering US airspace for a long time, but they had not been told why the Biden administration had decided to shoot them down just now.

“Several of us are asking why the sudden change,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, told reporters.

“They acknowledge the change, but no one had an answer.”

“We need more transparency,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-Los Angeles, said Tuesday after a classified briefing for all senators.

‘I understand the need for national security secrets, but now that this cow is out of the barn, the president and the director of national intelligence need to explain to the American people if they know, I’m not sure they know, if they know they’re not saying what these things are.

Kennedy told DailyMail.com that what he learned from the briefing was that unidentified objects, possible spyware, have been floating over the US for “a long, long time, at least 2017.”

“Many people, intentionally or not, have been under the impression that a couple of weeks ago our skies were clear. And then all of a sudden we have spy balloons and other unidentified flying objects raining down on us like confetti. That’s not accurate, these objects have been flying over us for years, many years.

Kennedy added: ‘What’s different in the last two weeks is that we started to shoot them down. But we can’t find the remains.

Earlier, the White House announced that it was assembling a UFO task force to study the security risks posed by airborne objects detected in United States airspace.

The new group, created by order of national security adviser Jake Sullivan, will bring together experts from the Pentagon, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies to analyze unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and determine if they are a threat.

Sen. Marco Rubio, a ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, told reporters that most of the information in the briefing should be made public.

“Ninety-nine percent of the information that’s just been reported to us, there’s no reason why it couldn’t be shared with the American people, that wouldn’t compromise the security of this country.”

He said he had learned little about the origin of the three unidentified objects, or even what they were.

They don’t know whose it is. They don’t even know what it is. They can’t even tell you what it was like.

Asked if the American public should be concerned, Rubio said: “From the broader perspective of whether these things are here to carry out attacks against the United States, there is no indication that that is the case.” But again, you’re right. I mean, how can I tell you not to worry about something if I can’t tell you what it is?

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, said Biden needed to address the public so the government could “move forward.”

‘My phone has been ringing and we have a President of the United States who doesn’t say anything. He just went out there and told people he was in good shape. We know what’s going on, let’s get on with life,” he told reporters after the briefing.

‘[Balloons] It’s probably been around forever,” he said. ‘Let’s get this over with. We have Chinese coming across the border every day, which is a much bigger threat, but no one talks about it.’

Senators largely agreed that more takedowns were to come.

“If he’s a threat to us, and if he intends to keep an eye on us and our critical infrastructure, our military capabilities, then by all means,” Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a former astronaut, told DailyMail.com.

Meanwhile, Senator Mitt Romney downplayed the seriousness of the spy balloon situation.

“These things are not worth losing sleep over, they are not weapons, so there is no reason to be alarmed,” he told reporters.

Romney continued: “Of all the things we can worry about, from China’s belligerence to Russia’s invasion of its neighbor, to starving people in Africa to climate change, this doesn’t rank very high in my mind.

worry table.