Stefanik calls for intelligence brief on China spy balloon: 'Wakeup call for Joe Biden'

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House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., on Friday demanded an intelligence briefing on China’s "violation of the United States’s airspace" in response to the communist country’s spy balloon hovering over Montana.

"The Chinese Communist Party’s violation of the United States’ airspace and growing military aggression is a threat to our national security," Stefanik said in a Friday statement. "This should be a wakeup call for Joe Biden’s weakness on the world stage. He can no longer allow China, our greatest geopolitical challenge, to undermine us."

CHINA CONFIRMS BALLOON IS THEIRS, AS SPOKESPERSON CLAIMS IT IS CIVILIAN RESEARCH AIRSHIP

Rep. Elise Stefanik demanded an intelligence briefing on China’s "violation of the United States’s airspace" Friday in response to the communist country’s spy balloon hovering over Montana. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

President Biden declined to shoot down the Chinese spy balloon after he was briefed that it was not a security threat. China claimed Friday that the balloon is a weather research tool that wandered off its intended track.

Stefanik, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and House Armed Services Committee, said a briefing is necessary to ensure that China does not violate U.S. airspace again as the nation becomes an increasing security threat.

"As a senior Member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, 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," Stefanik said.

REPUBLICANS PUSH BIDEN TO STOP ‘APPEASING’ CHINA AND SHOOT DOWN THE SPY BALLOON

President Biden declined to shoot down the Chinese spy balloon after he was briefed that it was not a security threat. (Fox News)

The White House on Friday suspended Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s scheduled visit to China for next week. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that shooting down the balloon could threaten civilians as debris falls and destroys property.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy called for a meeting on the spy balloon from the Gang of Eight, which includes the top two leaders and intelligence committee members from both parties in each chamber.

GOP RIPS BIDEN AFTER SUSPECTED CHINESE SPY BALLOON FOUND FLOATING OVER THE US

A Chinese balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, U.S. February 1, 2023, in this picture obtained from social media. (Chase Doak/via Reuters)

Several prominent Republicans called for Biden to shoot down the Chinese balloon.

"President Biden should stop coddling and appeasing the Chinese communists," Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., tweeted Friday. "Bring the balloon down now, and exploit its tech package, which could be an intelligence bonanza."

"Shoot down the balloon," Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley tweeted Friday. "Cancel Blinken’s trip. Hold China accountable. Biden is letting China walk all over us. It’s time to make America strong again."