Johnson indicates Congress knew about Russian anti-satellite weapon for 'weeks'

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday indicated that Congress had been aware of Russian efforts to develop an anti-satellite weapon well ahead of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner sounding the alarm earlier this week.

Turner on Wednesday abruptly warned of a "serious national security threat" and requested that the White House declassify relevant materials. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, and a Department of Defense official briefed congressional leaders on the situation Thursday, according to The Hill.

"This is a matter that we’ve known about for a few weeks. We requested a meeting with the president. I did, we did in writing in January," Johnson said after the meeting. "The United States can’t rely on other nations to handle matters like this. We must do it ourselves and we will."

The lawmakers confirmed that the threat at issue is the Russian development of anti-satellite capabilities.

"First this is not an active capability that’s been deployed and though Russia’s pursuit of this particular capability is troubling, there is no immediate threat to anyone’s safety," White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.