On Politics

Mon Feb 13 2023

Hey there, OnPolitics readers,

Remember the Chinese spy balloon? Well, turns out it has friends.

The U.S. military shot down another unidentified object flying over Lake Huron in Michigan on Sunday — the third in three days and fourth after the take down of the surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4.

The discovery of these objects, especially since the latest one posed a "very real" threat to air traffic, are sparking new concerns over the already tense relations between the U.S. and China.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are raising national security concerns as they figure out how to handle the country's delicate relationship with Beijing.

⚖️ What else are lawmakers saying?: Discovery of unidentified unmanned aircraft sparks new concerns on Capitol Hill over US-China relations

🎈 Catch up: Chinese spy balloon sought secret US communications signals, State Department says

🚀 US military takedown: US jets shoot down third unmanned aircraft within a week, this time over Canada

What else is going on in Washington?

Short dispatches from today's live blog for the political news enthusiast:

•	No Biden Super Bowl interview: President Joe Biden didn't take part in a pregame interview with Fox, breaking with a relatively new presidential tradition.
•	Schumer says there will be a "clean debt ceiling" increase: The Senate majority leader called on Republicans to raise the debt ceiling without any spending cuts.
•	Are some of Santos' fabrications protected by the First Amendment?: Legal experts weigh in on the Constitution and lying in some contexts.