Schumer scolds Republicans for outcry over suspected Chinese spy balloon
Samantha-Jo Roth
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) slammed Republicans for their criticism of how the Biden administration handled the suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew over sensitive military sites last week.
The Biden administration shot down the balloon Saturday after it drifted across U.S. airspace for days. President Joe Biden said he asked the Pentagon to take down the balloon earlier in the week, but defense officials recommended that he wait, citing safety concerns.
Republicans were quick to criticize Biden for the delay, accusing the administration of displaying weakness on the international stage. They have countered that the balloon could have been brought down far sooner without endangering lives or property.
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“Republicans, even before they saw and knew what was happening, started — some of them, not all — lambasting the president,” Schumer said during a Tuesday morning press conference ahead of Biden’s State of the Union address. “Those criticisms were, at best, premature and, in all probability, highly political. This is one area where we don’t need politics.”
Schumer described U.S. relations with China as “tense” following the incident, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponing a trip to Beijing in response to the appearance of the balloon over the United States. China maintains that the balloon was used to monitor weather and had been blown off course.
Schumer praised the administration’s response to the Chinese balloon as “calm, calculated, and effective” at the press conference.
“They listened to the military experts, they listened to the intelligence experts, and they did the right thing,” he said. “Having them come down over water is a huge, huge advantage instead of having them come down over land. Because over water, much of the surveillance balloon’s stuff can be recovered. So, we’re going to know what it is. And we’re also going to know what they’ve sought.”
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The Senate majority leader acknowledged that Biden is not likely to say much about the balloon in his State of the Union address, citing the classified nature of the incident. All senators will receive an intelligence briefing from Biden administration officials on Thursday instead of holding the briefing on Feb. 15 as originally scheduled.
“That briefing was going to be the Gang of Eight, but lots of members wanted it — they were entitled to it — so I requested that it be expanded to the whole Senate, and the administration agreed.”