Sen. Roger Wicker issues statement on takedown of Chinese spy balloon

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, released a statement Saturday in response to press reports of a Chinese spy balloon being downed over the Atlantic Ocean.

“Allowing a spy balloon from the Communist Party of Chine to travel across the entire continental United States before contesting its presence is a disastrous projection of weakness by the White House,” said Sen. Wicker. “It is clear that standard protocol for defense of U.S. airspace was ignored. If press reports are correct, the Biden administration hoped to hide this incident from the American people from the start. The White House owes Congress and the American people answers about the failure, and I intend to get those answers without delay.”

Balloon just after being shot down as seen from Nakina, N.C.
(Source: John Ball) — Balloon just after being shot down as seen from Nakina, N.C. (Source: John Ball)(John Ball)

The balloon, which leaders of China have said was a wandering airship used for meteorological research, made its way across the U.S. loitering over sensitive military sites before being shot down off the Carolina coast on Saturday.

A recovery mission is currently underway.

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