Episode Details

We have our first taste of how different conducting foreign policy will be for President Joe Biden now that Republicans control the House. 

The Pentagon revealed Thursday afternoon that it has detected and is tracking a large Chinese spy balloon floating in the stratosphere above Montana, where it was surveilling a nuclear missile base. The balloon, which entered U.S. airspace on Tuesday, is well above the altitude at which commercial aircraft fly, and Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder insisted that it “does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.”

Officials also noted that it’s not the first time one of these balloons has been spotted in American airspace in recent years — including during the Trump administration. But another official said the balloon has lingered longer than the others.

“It is appearing to hang out for a long period of time this time around, more persistent than in previous instances,” the official said. 

D.C.-based China correspondent Phelim Kine joins to break down the reaction from Washington in the midst of already high tensions with China.

Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletter

Raghu Manavalan is the host and senior editor of POLITICO's Playbook Daily Briefing.
Jenny Ament is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.