The Biden administration has faced criticism from Republicans over its handling of a Chinese spy balloon that entered U.S. airspace; now Republicans are weighing probing the matter, adding to their list of already pending investigations into the administration.
"NEWS: House Rs are discussing moving a resolution that’d criticize the Biden admin for inaction re. the Chinese surveillance balloon," Politico reporter Olivia Beavers tweeted Saturday. "My leadership source says if they pull trigger, it’d likely hit the floor Tuesday." As Beavers points out, the GOP's announcement of another probe into the Biden administration would fall on Tuesday, the same day as the president's State of the Union address.
Amid Republicans ostensibly calling for such an investigation, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Saturday that he would "be demanding answers and will hold the admin accountable for this embarrassing display of weakness."
U.S. officials were reportedly aware of the balloon's presence in American airspace since Jan. 28, Axios reported.
But while speaking to reporters, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president was not aware of the balloon until Tuesday.
"The president was briefed on this on Tuesday. He has continued to receive regular briefings, and updates from the national security team," Jean-Pierre said.
The president said he ordered the balloon to be taken down the following day.
"When I was briefed on the balloon, I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down on Wednesday as soon as possible. They decided without doing damage to anyone on the ground ... they said to me let’s wait for the safest place to do it," Biden said Saturday, according to The Hill.
Former Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell told Newsmax on Saturday that the balloon, while not a security threat, per comments made by some GOP members of Congress, is an intelligence threat that floated across the continental U.S. until meeting its end off the coast of South Carolina.
In his first comments on the matter, Biden, when asked about the balloon, told Fox News on Saturday, "We're going to take care of it."
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