Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California demanded the meeting after the balloon was discovered in US airspace.
Biden to brief top members of Congress on Chinese spy balloon
President Biden will brief top members of Congress on a Chinese spy ballon hovering over Montana next week.
The Biden administration will brief top members of Congress on the Chinese spy balloon detected flying over several states this week.
Staff will sit down with the “Gang of Eight” — the top leaders of the House and Senate from both parties — a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told Fox News.
Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California demanded the meeting after the balloon was discovered in US airspace.
“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,” he said in a tweet Thursday.
China insisted it was a weather research balloon that wandered off course and has publicly looked to deescalate the situation.
“The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into U.S. airspace due to force majeure,” they said in a statement — using a legal term to indicate factors beyond their control. US intelligence officials widely dispute the claim and believe the balloon intentionally entered US airspace.
Secretary of State Blinken’s planned visit to Beijing next week was indefinitely postponed over the incident.
As the balloon continues the linger over the continental United States, questions have grown about why the Biden administration has not acted to down the probe.
https://nypost.com/2023/02/04/biden-to-brief-congressional-leaders-on-chinese-spy-balloon/
So why wasn’t it taken down and retrieved when it was in US airspace off-shore Alaska…I hope they were tracking it way before it got further inland… ??