Congressman ‘Shocked’ at US Decisions on Chinese Spy Balloon After Classified Briefing

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) questions Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray about conspiracy theories related to the Jan. 6, 2020 attack on the U.S. Capitol during a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 15, 2022. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The revelations from the House-wide closed-door briefing about the Chinese spy balloon did nothing to reassure Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) about the steps the United States took to handle the incident.

In a conversation after the classified briefing on Feb. 9 morning, Higgins said he was “surprised” and “shocked at what I was hearing of the decisions that were made” and the argument top intelligence and military officials made supporting these measures.