President Joe Biden is facing bipartisan criticism over his administration’s handling of reported drone sightings in the Northeast, with Republicans drawing comparisons to the alleged Chinese spy balloon that traversed the country last year.
“We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat or have a foreign Nexus,” Biden’s National Security Council spokesman, John Kirby, told reporters Thursday. “Upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully.”
But that explanation isn’t sitting well with a growing chorus of politicians from both political parties who say the Biden administration needs to be more involved and more forthcoming about the incidents.
“The last time there was an object flying in our skies, they told us it was a weather balloon,” former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley posted on X. “It turned out to be China collecting information on our military installations. Now we are facing a similar situation, no answers. The federal government knows what this is. They owe it to the American people to tell us as this relates to our national security.”
Haley and others have compared the situation to the Chinese spy balloon incident from spring 2023, when the Biden administration allowed the object to fly across the continental U.S., including over sensitive military locations, before shooting it down in the Atlantic Ocean.
Biden was criticized not only for the delay in taking action but for refusing to even inform the public of the balloon’s existence until it was spotted by a newspaper photographer in Montana.
With residents of New York, New Jersey, and now Pennsylvania and Maryland saying they’ve spotted large drones in the sky for weeks, that criticism is flying around again.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) told Fox News’s Ryan Schmelz the drones should be “shot down if necessary” and that the lack of communication is “absolutely unacceptable.”
Another Democrat, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), said the public deserves “a lot more information and a lot more transparency.”
Reported sightings of the drones began in November, with a high concentration coming in and off the coast of the Garden State. Biden administration officials had previously shot down reports that an Iranian “mothership” was operating in the Atlantic Ocean and coordinating the drone flights.
Kirby added that the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation are assisting New Jersey officials in investigating the sightings, “using numerous detection methods to better understand their origin.”
The lack of insight has prompted speculation, including that the drones belong to the U.S. government. In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not address whether the agency was in contact with the Pentagon to resolve the reported drones’ origins.
The mysterious aerial vehicles have been described as resembling small car-sized aircraft and have been flying over a New Jersey military installation, as well as President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster private golf resort.Â
The Washington Examiner has contacted the Trump transition team seeking comment.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) suggested Wednesday that the unidentified objects could pose a national security risk from China.
Adding to the pressure is yet another member of Biden’s political party, Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ), who called for the federal government to pull more resources into investigating aircraft.
Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) said he rode around with New Jersey police officers Thursday evening and saw lights moving low over the tree line, apparently referencing the drones, which were sometimes white and sometimes flashing red and green.
Last night I went out with local police to spot drone flying over New Jersey, here’s what I saw. We drove to Round Valley Reservoir and the officer pointed to lights moving low over the tree line. Sometimes they were solid white light, others flashed of red and green.THREAD pic.twitter.com/ly7kUUDWDn
— Andy Kim (@AndyKimNJ) December 13, 2024
Kim said that he hasn’t gotten any follow-up from the FBI about its investigation or what it has compiled so far.
Both of New Jersey’s senators, along with New York Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), have also sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Federal Aviation Administration head Michael Whitaker asking for a briefing on the situation.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The sightings have been spotted in areas further south in recent days, including in the Washington, D.C., area. Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said he personally witnessed some Thursday night just 25 miles from the nation’s capital.
“I join with the growing bipartisan chorus of leaders demanding that the federal government immediately address this issue,” he wrote. “The American people deserve answers and action now.”
