WASHINGTON, D.C. — Florida Republican Rep. Mike Waltz says the now declassified information regarding a Russian space threat is “incredibly serious.” 

What You Need To Know

  • House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence member Rep. Mike Waltz says the anti-satellite capability Russia is developing is "incredibly serious" 

  • The White House addressed a public request from the Committee's Chairman Mike Turner to declassify information regarding it last week

  • Chairman Turner has defended his decision to push the White House to declassify the information

Waltz, Florida’s only representative on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, spoke to Spectrum News about the anti-satellite capability Russia is developing.

While the White House has said there is “no immediate threat” and that it’s “not an active capability that’s been deployed” by Russia, Waltz says if utilized, it would have sweeping impacts. 

“Essentially, what it would do is take out our entire space infrastructure, all of our satellites,” Waltz said. “And if folks don’t realize how much of our economy depends on GPS, everything from global shipping to trucking to agriculture, and obviously how we get around, but our ability to communicate financial transactions, I mean, it would literally send us back into the dark ages.”

On Wednesday, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner of Ohio released a public statement calling on President Joe Biden to declassify information regarding a “national security threat.” White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said Thursday that it’s “related to an anti-satellite capability that Russia is developing.”

On Friday, Biden said there was “no nuclear threat” or evidence it has decided to actively use the technology it is developing. 

While fellow Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz called the timing of the threat “suspicious” as Congress weighs new funding for Ukraine aid and reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Waltz said the Committee had been frustrated with the Biden Administration. 

“The frustration was the committee had sent multiple classified letters to the Administration, asking for briefings, asking for updates and a strategy to deal with this grave threat,” Waltz said. “And frankly, we had received radio silence. It wasn’t until the Chairman and the committee again voted unanimously to expand the number of members that the Administration seemed to respond and is now dealing with Congress.”

As for potential motives on why Russia is developing the technology, Waltz had this to say: “What we believe Putin has calculated is that our economy is far more dependent on space than his and therefore he could use that either as some type of strike or some type of deterrent, if he didn’t like how things were going for him.”

Turner has defended his decision to push the White House to declassify the information.