TRENTON, N.J. — Assemblyman Brian Bergen (R-Morris) is demanding clearer answers from the Trump administration after officials attributed a wave of drone sightings along the East Coast to government-approved research flights.
The explanation, delivered by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday, stated that the drones observed over New Jersey throughout December were authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for research and recreational use. Bergen dismissed the response as a “scripted non-answer.”
“Every aircraft in the sky is authorized to be there by the FAA. That’s not news,” Bergen said. “This caused so much chaos. The Trump administration’s response, honestly, it’s not good enough for anybody including me.”
The drones were first reported on Nov. 18 in Morris and Hunterdon counties, including near Picatinny Arsenal, an Army research facility. Officials from the State Police, FBI, and Department of Homeland Security later stated the drones posed no threat, though they acknowledged they could not determine their origin. The FAA temporarily restricted drone flights across New Jersey in response, but most of those bans have since been lifted.
President Donald Trump previously directed his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, to investigate the sightings, but Bergen and other New Jersey lawmakers remain skeptical of the administration’s conclusions.
New Jersey officials continue to push for more transparency on the unexplained drone activity.
