'Patience is getting very thin': New Jersey rep releases drone action plan
GLEN RIDGE, N.J. — Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) released on Monday a plan meant to help the federal government "locate and track" drones seen frequently across her district and neighboring areas for months.
Sherrill, a retired Navy helicopter commander, ripped the Biden administration for a lack of "coordination and communication," as reported drone sightings and concerns about their origins take hold of the Garden State.
"After weeks of unidentified-drone sightings over New Jersey, two things are clear: One, the drones remain unidentified and, two, the people of New Jersey need clearer, more consistent communication as to what our government is learning and doing about the drones," Sherrill, who is running to be New Jersey's next governor, said Monday.
"New Jerseyans' patience is getting very thin, including my own," she continued.
The Biden administration is facing fierce bipartisan blowback for its response to drone sightings throughout the Northeast. While the most of the reported drone sightings have happened in northern New Jersey, there have also been reports throughout New York, Pennsylvania and U.S. military installations across the East Coast.
Lawmakers in both parties have urged the Biden administration to provide more information about the provenance of the mysterious drones and settle public concerns about their origins and intentions.
President-elect Trump also criticized the Biden administration over its drone response Monday and claimed it was withholding information to "keep people in suspense."
“The government knows what is happening. Look, our military knows where they took off from, if it’s a garage they can go right into that garage. They know where it came from and where it went,” Trump, who owns a golf club and residence in Bedminster, N.J., told reporters Monday.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday that there was no evidence of "foreign involvement" with the drones and said the administration was working vigilantly to figure out their origins.
Sherrill's plan calls on the federal government to deploy a fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones with special tracking capabilities that are currently operated by Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
She also called on congressional leadership to convene a classified hearing with House and Senate committees that have jurisdiction over national defense and law enforcement. The hearing, Sherrill said, should include testimony from leaders from relevant federal agencies.
Sherrill said the Biden administration must take further steps to streamline and centralize its probe into drone sightings.
She said the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) should lead a federal drone task force and urged the Biden administration to "immediately implement a clear reporting process" with ways to release non-classified information to the public.