Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas downplayed the reports of drone sightings across New Jersey and elsewhere and claimed that the government can’t unilaterally shoot them out of the sky amid calls by President-elect Donald Trump and others to do just that.
In an appearance on CNN’s “The Situation Room” Friday, Mayorkas claimed the drones pose “no threat” and are “not nefarious,” and insisted that many of the sightings are just mistaken for “small aircraft” and commercially available drones operated by teenagers.
“What can you say to those Americans who are deeply concerned right now about all these sightings over New Jersey and New York, here and outside of Washington, D.C., in Maryland?” host Wolf Blitzer asked.
“Let me calm those nerves. We have not seen anything unusual,” Mayorkas responded. “We have not seen any unusual activity. We know of no threat. We know of no nefarious activity. I want to repeat that. We have not seen anything unusual. We know of no threat or of any nefarious activity.”
NEW: Alejandro Mayorkas says there is nothing they can do about the NJ drones because they don't have the "authority" and suggests people are just mistaking them for drones bought at "convenience stores."
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 13, 2024
Biggest clown in America.
Mayorkas says people might simply be mistaking… pic.twitter.com/Ln0d43yfFL
“And let me explain, people are reporting sightings of drones. It is very common for individuals who think they see drones to actually see small aircraft and we have a case of mistaken identity. Also, we have six different people reporting what they think is a drone, and all of a sudden, we have reports of six drone sightings. So, there’s some duplication.”
“I have been in touch with Gov. Murphy (D-N.J.) every day. Our experts have been in touch with the New Jersey State Police every day,” Mayorkas continued. “What we have done is we have deployed our state-of-the-art technology. We’ve deployed our experts to New Jersey. That technology has not confirmed any drone sightings. In addition, it has confirmed that some reported drone sightings are, in fact, small aircraft. Pilots have not reported seeing drones. That’s not to say that there aren’t drones flying in the air, but we have no concern, at this point, with respect to a threat or any nefarious activity.”
“The reality is, you can have a 15-year-old kid who buys a drone off the shelf and puts it up in the sky. We have not seen drones turn their lights off in the dark. We have not seen drones penetrate restricted airspace. Those are two indicia that would give us a cause for concern,” he added.
Blitzer then asked the DHS Secretary why the government hasn’t taken action to shoot down any of the drones amid calls by lawmakers like Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) to do so.
“We can’t shoot a drone out of the sky,” Mayorkas said, adding the DHS doesn’t have the “authority.”
“Our authorities are limited by the United States Coast Guard in the maritime environment, the United States Secret Service in its protection of our national leaders, US Customs and Border Protection with respect to the border.”
Sen. Blumenthal on Wednesday blasted federal government agencies like the Defense Department, DHS, FAA and FBI for the lack of transparency, noting that there’s a “whole fabric of restrictions” related to the flying of drones and the fact they claim they know nothing about them has him “alarmed.”
He also said there are other ways of bringing drones to the ground besides shooting them down.
“We should take it down and there are ways to take it down safely. There are ways to remove it from the skies without necessarily shooting it down,” he told CNN.
“We should be in control of the skies over people’s homes and businesses and communities and neighborhoods. People expect to know that the skies are safe above them, for airplanes, medevacs and helicopters, and also for their own privacy. It is a matter of national security.”
New Jersey’s Belleville Mayor Michael Melham also revealed the state gave guidance in a briefing that if a drone is downed, “we’re immediately to call the bomb squad of our county” and that “our fire department has been instructed to make sure they wear HAZMAT suits” like it’s an attack on the homeland.
Fox News political correspondent Byron York called out Mayorkas’ gaslighting, noting that, like Blumenthal, top New Jersey officials like Gov. Phil Murphy (D), Sen. Cory Booker (D) and other lawmakers have expressed alarm over the drones and the government’s lack of transparency about them.
“I’m not reassured here,” he said. “I think the lack of transparency here is just extraordinary, especially since you have actual officialdom raising real questions about this, meaning the Governor of New Jersey, the Senator of New Jersey, the former governor from Maryland. There are a lot of serious people talking about this, and they’re not getting any answers from the government either.”
WATCH: Fox’s @ByronYork calls out Mayorkas playing down drone sightings: “The lack of transparency here is just extraordinary, especially since you have actual officialdom raising real questions about this, including the Governor for New Jersey and the Senator of New Jersey.” pic.twitter.com/CypSb8C68u
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) December 14, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump on Friday called for the Biden administration to come clean to the American people about what they know of the drone sightings, otherwise, they should be shot down.
“Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!”