Federal officials' authority to track and disable drones set to expire, snared in budget battle

As suspected drone sightings over the eastern U.S. including New Jersey continue to captivate many, the federal government's authority to track and disable unmanned aircraft deemed threatening is set to expire after Friday and a temporary spending bill before Congress that would extend that power is now in question.

Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday temporarily banned drone flights in 22 areas of New Jersey where critical infrastructure is located. FAA officials said the flight restrictions were requested by federal security agencies and are effective through Jan. 17.

Federal and local authorities have been investigating sightings of suspected drones, but officials say there has been nothing so far to suggest that any drones have posed a national security or public safety threat. In fact, authorities say, many of the drone sightings have actually been legal drones, manned aircraft, helicopters and even stars.

Tucked into the bipartisan plan to prevent a government shutdown is a provision that would extend the authority of the departments of Homeland Security and Justice to track and disable unmanned aircraft deemed a credible threat from Dec. 20 until March 14.

That authority is vital, homeland security officials and experts say, to detect and disable any threatening drones flying near military bases, the president's location, U.S. borders, prisons and mass gatherings such as New Year's Eve celebrations and the Super Bowl — and they were hopeful a reauthorization of those powers will be approved before Friday's expiration.

But the temporary spending bill including the reauthorization fell into question Wednesday when President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected it and told Republicans to essentially renegotiate only days before the deadline when federal funding runs out. Congress continued working Thursday to pass a bill to avert a shutdown.

It wasn't immediately clear what a lapse in that authority would mean, including to drone detection systems the federal government has deployed to states, including New Jersey where numerous sightings have been reported, at the request of local officials. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's office referred questions about the detection systems to Homeland Security officials.

The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday declined to comment on the expiration of the drone authorities. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, along with other Biden administration officials and both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, has repeatedly called for the reauthorization and expansion of the authority for “counter-unmanned aerial systems” operations, or C-UAS.

“Ensuring that existing authorities do not lapse is vital to our mission, including protecting the president and vice president, patrolling certain designated areas along the Southwest Border, securing certain federal facilities and assets, and safeguarding the public,” Mayorkas told the House Homeland Security Committee in November 2023. “Any lapse in DHS’s current C-UAS authority would entail serious risks for our homeland security, as DHS would have to cease or curtail existing C-UAS operations."

Bills in the House and Senate that would extend and expand the federal government's drone powers remain pending. The bills also would allow state and local officials for the first time to track and disable threatening drones under a pilot program overseen by federal authorities.

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, was blocked from quickly advancing the Senate bill when Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, objected to its passage. Paul said it wasn’t clear there is a threat from drones that warrants urgent action.