Houses China Panel Leaders Blast Pentagon’s Response to Chinese Spy Balloon

U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) delivers remarks in the House Chamber during the second day of elections for House Speaker at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 4, 2023. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The top Republican and Democrat on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Competition Committee have issued a joint statement denouncing the Pentagon’s response to a Chinese spy balloon spotted over Montana.

“The United States Government has detected and is tracking a high altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now,” the Pentagon told the nation in a Feb. 2 statement.

“The U.S. government, to include NORAD, continues to track and monitor it closely,” the statement continued. “The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground. Instances of this kind of balloon activity have been observed previously over the past several years. Once the balloon was detected, the U.S. government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information.”

Pentagon Press Secretary U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder holds a press briefing at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on Oct. 18, 2022. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder insisted during a Feb. 3 press conference that the balloon, which he said is currently moving eastward across the central U.S., “does not pose a physical or military risk to people on the ground.”

Bipartisan Response

The same day, CCP Competition Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) issued a statement decrying the Pentagon’s response to the threat.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) during a hearing before the House Intelligence Committee in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 20, 2019. Samuel Corum-Pool/Getty Images

The statement was posted to Gallagher’s website.

“The Chinese Communist Party should not have on-demand access to American airspace,” the two lawmakers wrote. “Not only is this a violation of American sovereignty, coming only days before Secretary Blinken’s trip to the [People’s Republic of China], but it also makes clear that the CCP’s recent diplomatic overtures do not represent a substantive change in policy. Indeed, this incident demonstrates that the CCP threat is not confined to distant shores—it is here at home and we must act to counter this threat.”

While much of the 118th Congress is hopelessly divided along party lines, Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi agree on the risk posed by the CCP.

In an additional statement on his website, Gallagher applauded House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ (D-N.Y.) appointment of Krishnamoorthi.

“I’m thrilled to have Rep. Krishnamoorthi as my partner on this critical bipartisan effort,“ Gallagher wrote. ”Rep. Krishnamoorthi and I have a shared understanding of the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party and a long history of working together across the aisle on a range of issues—from protecting Americans from the threat posed by CCP controlled apps like TikTok and co-chairing the Middle-Class Jobs Caucus to introducing bipartisan infrastructure bills.”

In the past, Krishnamoorthi and Gallagher have teamed up against the Chinese app TikTok, which has been used to harvest the data of Americans using the app.

Gallagher continued: “What the Chinese Communist Party fears most is Democrats and Republicans working together to combat their malign influence and defend our nation. The CCP thinks it will be easy to divide us along partisan lines, but I look forward to working with Rep. Krishnamoorthi and my colleagues across the aisle to prove them wrong.”

Following the identification of the foreign espionage balloon, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that he would postpone a scheduled diplomatic visit to China.

“After consultations with our interagency partners as well as with Congress, we have concluded that the conditions are not right at this moment for Secretary Blinken to travel to China,” a senior State Department official told reporters on Feb. 3.

“We have noted the PRC [People’s Republic of China] statement of regret, but the presence of this balloon in our airspace is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law, and it is unacceptable that this has occurred,” the official said.

In their own statement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry (CFM) confirmed that the balloon “is from China.” However, the communist state denied charges of espionage, claiming the balloon is merely a civilian research vessel that drifted off-course.

“It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes,” the CFM wrote. “Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course.

“The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure [an unforeseen and unintended outcome]. The Chinese side will continue communicating with the US side and properly handle this unexpected situation caused by force majeure.”

‘Weakness’

Others were quick to blast the Pentagon’s response.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who serves as the GOP conference chairwoman, was also critical of the administration’s reaction in a Feb. 3 statement.

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) speaks at a press conference following a Republican caucus meeting, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on June 08, 2022. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

“The Chinese Communist Party’s violation of the United States’ airspace and growing military aggression is a threat to our national security,” Stefanik said. “This should be a wakeup call for Joe Biden’s weakness on the world stage.”

Stefanik, a senior Member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, called for an immediate intelligence briefing on the situation.

She said: “[Biden] can no longer allow China, our greatest geopolitical challenge, to undermine us ...  I am demanding an immediate intelligence briefing, so that we can know exactly how this happened and what malign intentions are behind this spying to ensure we hold China accountable, so the CCP does not violate American sovereignty again.”

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who chairs the important House Judiciary Committee, was also critical of the administration’s response.

https://twitter.com/Jim_Jordan/status/1621529656246558721

Jordan wrote: “Communist China ... Steals our intellectual property, Hurts American manufacturing, Supplies our enemies, Distracts Americans on TikTok, [and] Flies a spy balloon over our country. And what’s Joe Biden doing about it? Nothing.”

Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.) agreed.

“Whether through air space or cyberspace, we cannot allow the CCP to spy on the American people,” Kim wrote on Twitter.

“This Chinese spy balloon is an egregious breach of U.S. airspace and demonstrates China’s mounting aggression towards the U.S.,” Rep. Jim Baird (R-Ind.) concurred. “I hope the Biden administration will act quickly to remove this spy balloon from our airspace.”

Kari Lake, who last year fought Katie Hobbs for the Arizona governorship, was lighter in her response.

https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1621506285765099520

Lake posted a video of herself crouched, hunting rifle in hand, with the caption “I’m told there’s a balloon that needs to be taken care of?”

The Pentagon has since confirmed that the aircraft can maneuver and will likely stay over the U.S. for a “few days.”

Madalina Vasiliu and Eva Fu contributed to this report.