Subject: Re: The Frenchurian WhiteHouse
I have a hunch that scientists and engineers in the US Air Force, Navy, Marines, Space Force, NASA, Cal Tech, MIT, JPL, NOAA, etc have scanned, surveyed, and analyzed the balloon and its cargo.

These agencies consult with one another. Their knowledge and advise reach the executive branch. There's probably a plan based on US intel that is better kept classified.

If, otoh, we were actually a nation of nothing but morons with our thumbs up our wazooos, we'd already be speaking German or Chinese.