In This Story
The mystery of who is flying the drones that have been showing up along the East Coast continues, but there might be a partial answer behind why there have been so many more sightings. In an interview with ABC News, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said that a policy change by the Federal Aviation Administration may have cleared the skies the devices.
“In September of 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, changed the rules so that drones could fly at night,” he told the broadcaster. “And that may be one of the reasons why now people are seeing more drones than they did before, especially from dawn to dusk.”
The drones first started showing up earlier this month near the New Jersey golf course of president-elect Donald Trump. Since then, they have started making appearance in lots of other places. On Friday, New York Stewart International Airport near New York City was temporarily shut down because drones were seen there. Additionally, a pair of men were arrested on Saturday for operating drones near Boston’s Logan airport.
Governors and elected officials at all levels of government have been scrambling to figure out what’s going on, and nobody has any answers.
“We need to know who’s behind it,” Rep. Mike Waltz, a Republican from Florida who is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for national security adviser, told “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “But right now, I think law enforcement seems to be ... the Department of Homeland Security and the Defense Department are kind of doing this and pointing at each other.”
Speaking to ABC, Mayorkas said that federal officials have the situation under control despite widespread anxiety.
“I want to assure the American public that we are on it,” he said. “We are working in close coordination with state and local authorities. And it is critical, as we all have said for a number of years that we need from Congress additional authorities to address the drone situation.”