GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Green Bay’s Mike Gallagher says he’s “disappointed” by the lack of information surrounding the “unidentified area phenomena” the U.S. has seen recently.
U.S. Rep. Gallagher, R-8th District, spoke out Wednesday after members of Congress were briefed on the matter earlier in the week.
Following the Senate’s classified briefing, some lawmakers were highly critical of the lack of information, with one telling reporters, “If you are confused, you understand the situation perfectly.”
Gallagher himself is also disappointed with the lack of information, saying that the American people are “unnerved.”
“We actually tried to get the administration, and the previous administration as well, to take this more seriously. We set up a special office to adjudicate these issues,” he said. “But until now, when it burst into public view, it really didn’t get the attention it deserved, which is why we need to conduct serious oversight of this.”
Yet, Gallagher admitted that he understands there may not be much information regarding some of the objects, considering there are ongoing recovery efforts. Still, he said the White House should be erring on the side of transparency.
“There’s a lot of unanswered questions with the incidents two, three and four — that I don’t fault them because there’s an ongoing recovery effort, and until we recover it and analyze it, we won’t know the origin of that,” he explained. “But I really think now we just need to be open and honest. I’ve been disappointed with the details in these briefings and hoping we get more details moving forward.”
Regarding China’s response to the shot down objects, Gallagher says the country’s messaging is “laughable.”
“Chinese state media would still have you believe this is a civilian weather balloon,” he said. “And the idea that we are the ones provoking when they are the ones who are violating our airspace, violating international law, is laughable.”
Gallagher went on to say that these flying objects are a bipartisan concern, and he thinks they can be resolved in a bipartisan effort too.
