House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) said on Sunday that he believes the Biden administration will begin to take the threat of a Russian space nuclear weapon more seriously now that it has been exposed to the public.
Turner made the remarks during an NBC News interview with Kristen Welker on “Meet The Press” when asked about his decision last week to release a statement calling attention to a new “destabilizing foreign military capability.”
“The threat is very serious,” he said. “Everyone who’s looked at it used the same language that I have, that it is a very serious threat. And I’m very glad that the administration is beginning to take action. We met with Jake Sullivan, and he began to lay out a plan that hopefully would begin to address this. I understand that Secretary Blinken here at Munich met with leaders from China and India, according to how the New York Times is reporting. That certainly would be an important big step to try to avert this.”
Welker then claimed that President Joe Biden said last week that the threat was not a nuclear threat. What Biden actually said was that the threat did not present a nuclear threat “to the people of America or anywhere else in the world” because the purported weapon is designed to be used only in space to destroy satellites.
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“I can’t confirm or deny this,” Turner said. “What I have called for is for the administration to declassify this. And my concern is that this is kind of like the Chinese spy balloon, and the – the administration is kind of hiding perhaps some inaction. But as this becomes more and more public and the administration grapples with what we’re dealing with, I think they are going to be taking it seriously. I think they will be taking action. And that, obviously, is the goal.”
WATCH:
WATCH: House Intel Chair @RepMikeTurner (R-Ohio) sounded the alarm about a national security threat related to a Russian anti-satellite weapon.
President Biden has said the threat isn’t nuclear.
Turner: “I can’t confirm or deny this.” pic.twitter.com/iCxlz3KYI8
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) February 18, 2024