Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) criticized the federal government’s search effort for the missing Titan submersible after news broke on Thursday that it imploded.
Crenshaw called the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy’s delayed response to the underwater emergency an “epic failure in leadership” during an interview on Fox News’s Special Report on Thursday.
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“Now, it’s important to note that if you had just deployed those assets, they would have arrived on scene by Wednesday morning at the latest,” Crenshaw said.
“They finally deploy that 6K ROV, the only thing capable of actually going to that depth and seeing what’s down there, [Thursday] morning. It deploys down there, and the wreckage was exactly where they thought it would be,” he added. “So where’s the failure here? The failure is to not put all your options on the table.”
Crenshaw has been critical of the delayed rescue mission as the crisis has unfolded this week.
Lost submarine update: I am still hearing reports that the US Government unnecessarily delayed the deployment of proper search & recovery equipment from reaching the Titanic, and now time is running out. I also hear that, contrary to USCG reports, the sub’s location is actually…
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) June 22, 2023
The Republican congressman suggested the banging noises the Navy detected could have been the submersible’s impact with the ocean floor, though it could have possibly been the implosion, as the Wall Street Journal reported. He also questioned the official timeline of events since Sunday, arguing the Biden administration’s inaction led to the deaths of five passengers aboard the Titan.
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“It begs the question — could this have been resolved differently if leadership had just acted sooner and actually put options on the table instead of just assuming, ‘Well, it doesn’t matter because they’re dead,’” Crenshaw said.
Debris from the underwater vessel was found near the wrecked Titanic, the Coast Guard said Thursday. The Titan and the bodies within it remain to be found at 13,000 feet below sea level.
