On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) stated that the Biden administration needs to be more transparent about how it handled the flying objects and there was a clear bipartisan call for more transparency. Shaheen called for clear policy on how we handle these objects, and said that we don’t know what the policy is or will be going forward.
Shaheen stated, “[A]fter the Chinese balloon traversed the United States and got so much attention, I think it’s really heightened both the public curiosity and the interest on the part of policymakers to know what this is. And so, there was a very loud cry — as you heard from the head of the Intelligence Committee — for more transparency from the administration about what this is and making sure that the public can understand what’s going on. So, I think that was a bipartisan call from members on both sides of the aisle. And I think it was heard loud and clear.”
Host Andrea Mitchell then asked, “Did you get the answers you needed today?”
Shaheen responded, “Well, I don’t think we have the answers yet. And that’s part of the frustration that, not only we in Congress have, but the public has, because we are still trying to learn more about what these are and also to try and determine the policy that distinguishes different objects that are out in space. We know that the Chinese spy balloon was exactly that, it was a spy balloon. It was surveilling the United States. And so, we had [an] interest in seeing that we eliminate that. These other objects were flying in what appeared to be airspace. So, they posed a threat to aviation. And so, we need to make sure that they’re not threatening the safety and health of people either on the ground or in the air. But we need to be very clear about what our policy is, what it makes sense to shoot down, what we need to know more about before we make that determination. And I think that’s what we all hope will become clearer as more information is available.”
Shaheen added that the other objects “were operating in airspace that posed a threat to aviation. And so, I think, given that, it was not a mistake. But, again, that’s why I think it’s important that we have a clearly delineated policy that people understand so that we know going forward what determines our response in the United States.”
Later, Mitchell asked, “Do you think the administration needs to be more transparent with the public?”
Shaheen answered, “Yes. As I said, I think that was a clear request from both Republicans and Democrats to let the public know, as well as members of Congress, those of us who need to set policy along with the administration, what this is and what our policy’s going to be going forward.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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