White House rejects Republican fire over wait to down Chinese spy balloon
by Martin Pengelly in New York, Maya Yang and agencie from on (#68HY0)
Pete Buttigieg says president considered safety of American people' but Marco Rubio criticizes eight-day wait
The US transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, rejected Republican criticism of Joe Biden over the eight-day wait to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon which flew over military sites.
The president gave instructions to have it shot down in a way that was safe," Buttigieg told CNN's State of the Union, of the operation off the Carolina coast on Saturday.
Associated Press contributed to this report
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