BREAKING: Pentagon tells the public to 'look up in the sky and see where the balloon is'

Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said on Friday that shooting down the Chinese spy balloon that has been spotted floating above US soil is not an option that the Biden administration would carry out. 

"In terms of the discussions of whether or not to shoot down this balloon, that was an option. It was something that was taken into consideration... Because we assess that it currently does not pose a  physical or military risk to people on the ground, for now we are continuing our monitor and review options," Ryder said on Friday.



Ryder was also asked how long the balloon could stay above US soil, to which he said that it would loiter above for "a few days," and that it will continue to be monitored.

Ryder was asked what data the balloon would be able to collect, to which he said he would not divulge information. "Once the balloon was detected, we acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information, and I'll just leave it at that," he said.

When asked "Does the public not have the right to know" about the location of the balloon, Ryder said, "The public certainly has the ability to look up in the sky and see where the balloon is."

The Department of Defense has a $1.9 trillion budget. 

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.