Central Montana Times

U.S. Senator Steve Daines has expressed his concern over a report from NBC News which suggests that the Biden administration intended to keep the Chinese spy balloon secret and not inform Congress or the American people. Daines criticized the administration's foreign policy failures and questioned whether it was worse to allow a spy balloon to fly over the country or to believe that the American people wouldn't notice.

Daines acknowledged the role of Montana media, particularly Larry Mayer, who initially captured photographs of the spy balloon, in raising awareness about China's spying activities in plain sight. He emphasized the need for Congress to investigate the administration's handling of this national security situation and described the effort to cover up the incident as unacceptable.

The senator called on the administration to provide a report on the U.S. technology used aboard the spy balloon and present the findings to Congress and the American people. Daines stated, "It is imperative that Congress get to the bottom of what happened, so it doesn't happen again."

Highlighting a series of national security failures following the withdrawal from Afghanistan, Daines emphasized the urgency of addressing these issues. He said, "What started with a debacle of a withdrawal from Afghanistan has cascaded into national security failure after failure. It needs to stop."

Daines has been at the forefront of holding the administration accountable since the first sightings of the Chinese spy balloon. As the first member of Congress to demand answers from the Biden administration, he continues to lead the efforts to investigate this espionage incident.

For more information on Daines' work regarding the Chinese spy balloon, visit the link provided.

For additional details, please follow this link: https://www.daines.senate.gov/2023/12/23/daines-statement-on-report-that-biden-administration-intended-to-keep-chinese-spy-balloon-secret/