EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is demanding an immediate investigation into President Biden's lack of a response to China's spy balloon that is currently floating over the U.S.
"I write to request that you expeditiously convene a hearing on troubling reports that the Chinese government has launched a surveillance balloon over the United States to spy on our nuclear capabilities," Hawley wrote in a letter to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich.
"As Members of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), we have an obligation to obtain a full understanding of the surveillance that the Chinese government is currently conducting in gross violation of U.S. airspace and to understand the Biden Administration’s baffling response thus far," he wrote.
AFTER CHINESE BALLOON ENTERS US AIRSPACE, BIDEN SECRETARY OF STATE POSTPONES TRIP TO CHINA
Defense Department spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Friday that the Chinese surveillance balloon hovering over the U.S. has moved to the central part of the country.
Ryder said the North American Aerospace Defense Command is closely monitoring the balloon's location and that it is moving eastward across the U.S. and said that it will "probably be over the United States for a few days."
"Yet rather than shooting down or otherwise disabling this high-altitude balloon, the Biden Administration is merely ‘monitoring the situation’ and referring reporters to the Chinese government for answers," Hawley wrote.
AFTER CHINESE BALLOON ENTERS US AIRSPACE, BIDEN SECRETARY OF STATE POSTPONES TRIP TO CHINA
"This is a gross violation of American sovereignty. China’s foray into America’s sovereign airspace is deeply disturbing and calls for an immediate investigation. This is a matter of homeland security, and we should hear from senior members of the Biden Administration to understand their response, or lack thereof, so far. The American people are demanding answers," the senator wrote.
The letter comes after House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., on Friday criticized the Biden administration for failing to keep Congress informed about the discovery of a Chinese spy balloon floating above the U.S., and said his committee should have been notified by the administration instead of the media.
CHINESE SPY BALLOON ENTERS US AIRSPACE: WHAT WE KNOW
Peters could not immediately be reached for comment.
