Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, blasted President Biden for a high-altitude balloon from China that is traveling over the continental United States not being shot down before it reached U.S. territory, speculating that it could have “bioweapons.”
Comer told Fox News’s Harris Faulkner in an interview on Friday that he is concerned that the federal government “obviously” does not know what is in the balloon.
“Is it bioweapons in that balloon? Did that balloon take off from Wuhan?” Comer said, referring to the Chinese city where the COVID-19 virus was first discovered. “We don’t know anything about that balloon.”
He said China is “clearly playing games” with the U.S., and the balloon should not have been allowed to cross into the airspace of the continental U.S.
The Chinese government has confirmed that they own a balloon that has been traveling over the western part of the country.
U.S. officials have said they believe the balloon is conducting surveillance, while the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it is a civilian airship meant primarily for meteorological research that was blown off course by wind.
The balloon was first seen over Montana on Wednesday, and U.S. officials have not shot it down over safety concerns.
The Chinese foreign ministry has said it was looking into the situation and did not intend to violate the territory or airspace of any country.
Comer said the situation is “another sign of weakness” on the international stage from the Biden administration, arguing that the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 already hurt the reputation of the country’s military strength.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a scheduled trip to China following what a State Department official said was a “clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law.”