Mayorkas: ‘We’ll Learn’ How Much Damage Spy Balloon Did to National Security

During an interview with Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday broadcast on Tuesday’s edition of CNN International’s “Amanpour,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas responded to a question on how much damage the Chinese spy balloon did to national security and homeland security by stating that the balloon wasn’t to measure weather and “the assessment is still underway…and we’ll learn a great deal from that.”

Mayorkas said, “I think the United States has sent a very important message to the world, in coordination and collaboration with our allies, that the sovereignty of nations, of democratic institutions, will be protected and will be safeguarded. We shot down a Chinese device that invaded our sovereignty, and that was an important message.”

Host Christiane Amanpour then asked, “So, the foreign minister of China said that that was an overreaction, that is their position on that. How much damage, in terms of national security and protecting the homeland, did that balloon do, the spy balloon, the first one you shot down?”

Mayorkas answered, “Well, our strongly held view is that it was not an innocent device to measure weather patterns. And of course, the assessment is still underway and we have recovered a great deal and we’ll learn a great deal from that.”

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