Adam Kredo of the Washington Free Beacon reports on recent complaints from congressional Republicans.
Days after the United States shot down three unidentified objects flying over North America, lawmakers are frustrated with the limited information the Biden administration has thus far provided about what is taking place and who is responsible.
Congressmen told the Washington Free Beacon the dearth of information makes it difficult to perform emergency oversight work and plot a course of action to deal with these mysterious incidents going forward. The lack of communication from the White House is also adding to fears the United States is facing a new national security threat but is not equipped to properly deal with it, according to Rep. Jim Banks (R., Ind.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
“It’s hard to say whether the administration is trigger happy or prudent because Congress hasn’t received a substantive briefing since the first spy balloon was shot down,” Banks told the Free Beacon. “The Biden DOD has said that these three objects threatened our national security, and if they did it’s unacceptable for Congress to be kept in the dark.”
The incidents triggered panic across the United States as airspace over several states was shut down so that military planes could destroy the objects. While the initial balloon was described by U.S. officials as a spy device, they are not providing information about the subsequent three objects. The first was detected on Feb. 10 above Alaska and shot down, and then a second object flew near the U.S.-Canada border the next day, triggering a joint operation to destroy it. On Feb. 12, a third object was spotted over Lake Huron and was shot down at the White House’s request.
Rep. Michael Waltz (R., Fla.), also a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told the Free Beacon that lawmakers “just don’t know the extent” of what is taking place.
