In an attempt to reassure the public about drones in East Coast states, President Joe Biden stated on Tuesday that the rise in reports of unmanned aircraft sightings was not concerning.
“Apparently nothing sinister,” Biden told reporters at the White House. “We’re keeping a careful eye on it. No sense of danger as of yet.
Biden’s initial public remarks on the subject complement an increasing number of promises made by his administration.
However, despite conspiracy theories and growing public concern linked to the sightings, members of Congress, including Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul of New York and President-elect Donald Trump, have called for more information in response to the multiple sightings.
On Tuesday evening, Biden stated that “there s a lot of drones authorized up there.”
According to a joint statement issued a day earlier by the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Defense Department, and the FBI, over a million drones are legally registered with the agency. The statement stated that the sightings are not unusual and do not represent a risk to public safety or national security.
Among the items identified were commercial, hobbyist, and law enforcement drones, along with some crewed fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars, the agencies said Monday, adding that officials had received over 5,000 tips in recent weeks.
Intelligence officials briefed members of the House Intelligence Committee on the drone sightings Tuesday afternoon behind closed doors.
The panel’s leading Democrat, Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., stated that officials had repeatedly reassured them that the drones were not being used illegally or by anyone with malicious intent.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby called on Congress to enact legislation that would provide federal, state, and local government agencies greater authority to deal with an increasing number of drones entering U.S. airspace during an interview on NBC’s TODAY show on Tuesday.
The short-term funding bill that Congress leaders unveiled Tuesday night includes a clause that would extend a program run by the Department of Homeland Security that permits government agencies to coordinate and combat drone threats.
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