Lawmakers warn of China's threat from space: 'This is the next battlefield'
Reps. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., discuss confronting China's cyber threat and China's desire to advance military objectives in space on 'The Story with Martha MacCallum.'
Two Republican lawmakers on the House Select Committee on the CCP warned China's goal of space dominance is a serious concern that could potentially harm the United States on several fronts, as former President Donald Trump's once ridiculed decision to create a new military branch to address the new frontier is becoming increasingly validated for its foresight.
USSF Gen. Chance Saltzman, the chief of space operations, reportedly warned a Senate subcommittee earlier this year that Chinese satellite technology could essentially use a spacecraft to pull an enemy satellite out of orbit.
"It's very concerning, and we need to get ahead of the game on this," said Committee Member John Moolenaar, R-Mich., in response to that report Tuesday on "The Story."
"We need to support our Space Force. We need to make sure we're investing in cybersecurity and stay ahead of the game. China is clearly wanting to advance their military objectives in space, and we need to recognize that threat and respond accordingly."
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A rocket carrying a satellite launches into space in the Sichuan Province of China. (Li Jieyi/VCG via Getty Images)
Rep. Dusty Johnson, South Dakota's at-large Republican congressman agreed America needed a Space Force when Trump was mocked for forming a seventh military branch.
"President Trump was farsighted in this way, and the [Biden] administration has not done enough to check this very serious threat," Johnson said.
Johnson added that China has declared it wants to be the "masters of space" by 2045 and may come within technological "parity" with the United States in only a few years.
Johnson said China already has 347 satellites suspected of having military or "counter-espionage" capabilities launched to-date, warning the Biden administration and Congress must "get its head on straight" and realize that space is the next proverbial "battlefield."
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Space shuttle Discovery with Hubble Space Telescope aboard, blasts off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, April 24, 1990. (JHU Sheridan Libraries/Gado/Getty Images)
Notably in 2021, Democrats harshly criticized Trump's decision to form the Space Force, with Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., putting forward the "No Militarization in Space Act" to blunt funding for it.
That bill was co-sponsored by half a dozen fellow Democrats, including frequent Trump foil Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Reps. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., according to congressional records.
However, Democrats on the new select committee, including ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, have joined Republicans in warning about the threat China poses.
Krishnamoorthi previously reportedly called the CCP an "adversarial entity" and joined with Chairman Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., in a joint statement condemning the infamous Chinese spy dirigible's flight over the heartland.
"Not only is this a violation of American sovereignty, coming only days before Secretary Blinken’s trip to the PRC (China), but it also makes clear that the CCP’s recent diplomatic overtures do not represent a substantive change in policy," they said in part.
Biden (Drew Angerer/Getty)
On "The Story," Moolenaar also responded to a protest in his part of Michigan against the construction of a large Chinese electric vehicle plant.
Moolenaar said the project is a concern and that the parent company of the entity is indeed from China and has CCP ties.
"The leadership in Michigan, the Democratic leadership, has put a lot of funding towards it. But our concern is we don't want any tie with the Chinese Communist Party and investments in Michigan. We don't want to see farmland purchased by China and we want to protect our homeland in this way," he said.
About halfway between Johnson's and Moolenaar's states, China previously drew Americans' ire over its land purchases in very close proximity to a sensitive U.S. military installation in North Dakota.
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