'Serious' national security threat linked to Russia, space, source tells Fox News
Senate approves $95-billion foreign aid package
The Senate passed a $95.3 billion foreign aid bill with assistance for Ukraine and Israel in a vote early Tuesday morning. The foreign aid package includes billions of dollars to support Ukraine and for security assistance for Israel, as well as humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine. It’s unclear whether House Speaker Mike Johnson will hold a vote on it, with many Republicans against sending more aid to Ukraine.
Rep. Mike Turner says a national security threat he’s been made aware of is serious enough that he’s calling on President Biden to declassify the information.
Turner, the Republican chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, gave no details about the threat Wednesday, but said his committee "identified an urgent matter with regard to a destabilizing foreign military capability" that should be known to all congressional lawmakers.
"I am requesting that President Biden declassify all information relating to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond."
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The Biden administration declined to address it, but Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich said a Pentagon source told her it’s linked to Russian military capabilities in space. She said "the potential seriousness of the threat is grave, however, the threat is not immediate in nature," according to her source.
According to The Associated Press, the White House was caught off guard by Turner’s public statements.
Asked if Americans should be worried, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said, "I think in a way that question it is impossible to answer with a straight yes.
National Security Agency seal (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
"Because Americans understand that there are a range of threats and challenges in the world that we're dealing with every single day," he continued. "And those threats and challenges range from terrorism to state actors...I am confident that President Biden, in the decisions that he is taking, is going to ensure the security of the American people going forward."
Sullivan told reporters at the White House that he already had been due to brief Turner and other senior congressional leaders on Thursday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said "there’s no need for alarm."
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Johnson said he was not at liberty to disclose the classified information. "But we just want to assure everyone steady hands are at the wheel. We’re working on it and there’s no need for alarm," he told reporters at the Capitol.
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The Senate Intelligence Committee said it, too, is tracking the threat and taking it seriously.
"We continue to take this matter seriously and are discussing an appropriate response with the administration," Sen. Mark Warner, the Democratic committee chairman, and Sen. Marco Rubio, the Republican vice chairman, said in a statement. "In the meantime, we must be cautious about potentially disclosing sources and methods that may be key to preserving a range of options for U.S. action."
Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.