not taking steps to down this balloon sooner. republicans have argued that this is a sign of weakness in the white house's approach towards china, but the white house has pushed back saying this was a responsible action for a commander in chief to take. they are arguing that what the president was trying to do was prioritize saving american lives. now, there are lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who are calling for briefings and hearings into this matter and the so-called gang of eight congressional leaders will receive a briefing from biden administration officials next week as there are still so many outstanding questions about how this incident unfolded. arlette saenz, cnn, the white house. >> the suspected chinese spy balloon shot down over the carolinas wasn't the only one in the western hemisphere. the pentagon said a second balloon was flying over latin america. confirmed the sights in his country and told cnn the balloon did not originate inicosa reeka