Some Republicans in the House of Representatives are questioning the US’s ability to deal with a new national security threat from Russia, while others are accusing their colleagues of playing politics.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby apparently confirmed reports that the threat was linked to Moscow’s plan to deploy a nuclear weapon in space to target and destroy satellites the world depends on for communications. to destroy.
“I can confirm that it is related to an anti-satellite capability that Russia is developing.”
Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., a former Navy pilot and Intel member, said the classified material is a “real, significant threat to national security.”
A US intelligence official told the New York Times that the US is unable to defend its satellites against such a weapon from Russia.
“We are asking these kinds of questions to the Pentagon administration,” Garcia told DailyMail.com.
Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told DailyMail.com that he is more concerned about the “penalties” of talking about the classified material he viewed in the House SCIF than the consequences of the material itself.
The contrasting shots reveal a division within the Republican Party that has been brewing throughout the Congress
“I wish I had never joined SCIF, because what I learned, I mean, you could see everything in the news, and then I could talk about it freely.”
Intel Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, who first disclosed the threat in a statement Tuesday, said he had worked with the White House to make the classified information available to all members of Congress while demanding that President Biden would release the material.
“The timing is a bit, as my daughters would say, ‘sus,’” he continued, referring to the debate over FISA and Ukrainian aid — both of which Turner supports. “It’s a strong coincidence.”
The contrasting shots reveal a division within the Republican Party that has been brewing throughout the Congress.
The House was scheduled to vote on a FISA reauthorization bill this week, but Speaker Mike Johnson removed it from the floor schedule after both sides of his GOP conference threatened to undermine it over whether or not it included an amendment to require arrest warrants for espionage. on Americans
FISA is intended for intelligence officials to monitor the communications of foreigners they believe could pose a threat to U.S. security. But thousands of Americans are caught up in surveillance every year.
The right-wing House Freedom Caucus wants FISA to have an amendment that would require a warrant to spy on American citizens believed to be involved or communicating with people who pose a threat. Intel-conscious Republicans believe requiring a warrant would slow the process and threaten national security.
“There are no ulterior motives for trying to make this public,” Garcia said. “People who say this is alarming… you should ask them if they’ve read the document yet. If they read the document and get away with it, and I don’t think they understand the document.”
Intel Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, who first disclosed the threat in a statement Tuesday, said he had worked with the White House to make the classified information available to all members of Congress because he was told by President Biden demanded that he release the material.
Russia blew up one of its own satellites with a missile in 2021. Cosmos 1408, a defunct spy satellite launched in 1982, was the destroyed target, resulting in a field of 1,500 pieces of debris that endangered the ISS crew
Turner’s statement caused alarm across Washington, with fellow Republican Rep. Andy Ogles asking Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday to investigate whether it had affected domestic or foreign policy.
He, along with other members of the right-wing Freedom Caucus, have claimed that Turner released the statement as a way to urge members to vote to defund Ukraine and reauthorize spy tool FISA without the need for arrest warrants.
Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., a Navy and Marine Corps veteran, attacked his colleagues for the leaks that came out immediately after Intel’s statement.
“If you do that in the military, someone’s going to get in trouble,” he said. “We never get in trouble for anything.”
“If someone releases top secret information or top secret information within hours, I see that someone does not understand their responsibility as a member of Congress, and that concerns me more than any manipulation of a vote,” he said.
The Soyuz rocket is about to launch the Fregat upper stage with two of the mission satellites into orbit
An intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with the nuclear-capable hypersonic ‘Avangard’ glide vehicle is lifted to its launch silo in the Orenburg region, Russia. This image is from a video released on November 16, 2023.
It also comes as funding for Ukraine has come to a standstill. The Senate this week passed a financing bill for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and Gaza, which Johnson has said he will not bring to the floor without border security measures.
Moderates on both sides are now drafting proposals for a new foreign aid package. Some ideas are to cut humanitarian provisions and focus on military aid, and to institute a resurrection of the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy.
Meanwhile, Moscow has already shown how it can be deadly from space by testing a hit-to-kill anti-satellite missile in 2021.
Russia smashed a defunct spy satellite launched in 1982 into 1,500 pieces of rubble in the attack, sparking outrage around the world.
In 2020, Moscow fired an anti-satellite weapon from its Cosmos 2543 satellite while in orbit.
Vladimir Putin has also threatened the West with his deadliest hypersonic missile yet, which could race into space and hit multiple targets on the ground.
The nuclear-capable Avangard missile, which can reportedly hit targets at 27 times the speed of sound, is seen in new footage installed in an underground launch silo in Russia’s Orenburg region.
According to Moscow, the rocket, traveling at 20,000 miles per hour and using a hypersonic glide vehicle, will be able to leave the Earth’s atmosphere in less than 30 minutes before hitting any target in the world.
Members of Congress or US allies should not openly discuss or collaborate on the threat until the report is released.