White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby, accompanied by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, left, speaks during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Dec. 12, 2024, in Washington, D.C., during which they discussed drone sightings in New Jersey and other areas along the East Coast and other topics. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Members of Congress are among those calling for greater transparency from the federal government as a spate of reported drone sightings concentrated in New Jersey and New York has raised questions beyond the Northeast.

Reported sightings of drones, officially known as unmanned aerial systems, or UAS, have spiked since Nov. 18, when authorities received several reports of suspicious drone activity near critical infrastructure in New Jersey, according to an FBI official in the state who briefed reporters over the weekend.

The increased activity has worried some and led to calls from lawmakers for the federal agencies to provide more information on drone activity, even as security officials urged caution.

In a statement that described an “epidemic of non-stop drone sightings,” U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for the federal government to deploy more drone-detection systems and to share information with local authorities.

“I want it deployed widely across New York and New Jersey to help give us concrete answers on what is going on, and from where,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, said of a drone-detection system that the federal government uses. “What we need right now is data. The briefings I have had tell me there is no evidence that this is a government or foreign activity, and so, we have to answer the logical of question of: who?”

Schumer called on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to deploy the drone-detection system and said he would cosponsor a bill that would give local law enforcement more authority to respond to drone sightings.

Drones, like planes and other users of the national airspace, are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration.

“We still have very few answers on where some of these drones come from and who may be operating them,” Schumer said Monday on the Senate floor. “The people of New York and New Jersey have a lot of questions and haven’t gotten many answers. We know one thing, though. Local officials now don’t have the resources nor the authority to get to the bottom of what’s happening.”

On CBS’ Sunday morning news show “Face the Nation,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat who is a senior member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee with jurisdiction over the FAA, called for federal officials to brief U.S. senators.

“We need more transparency,” she said.

‘No evidence’ of threat, says DOD

U.S. Defense Department spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters Monday that there was “no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.”

Regardless, he said he wanted to take the public’s concerns seriously, but also offered further context.

The drone industry is expanding, with more than 1 million hobbyist and commercial drones licensed by the FAA and 8,000 in use daily.

He likened the drone sightings, even those near military installations or other important sites, to drivers who may get lost and turn up in their cars at places they are not supposed to be, something he said happens regularly without incident.

“The point being is that flying drones is not illegal,” he said. “There are thousands of drones flown around the U.S. on a daily basis. So, as a result, it’s not that unusual to see drones in the sky, nor is it an indication of malicious activity or any public safety threat.”

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, noted Monday that federal investigators had not found any malicious activity and urged residents to “calm down” about drone sightings.

Many recent reports of drones, noted by non-experts, turned out to be commercial planes flying regularly scheduled nighttime routes.

More than 5,000 tips

The New Jersey-based FBI official said that the vast majority of the more than 5,000 tips his office received in the past month related to unidentified objects in the night skies have not been “actionable.”

The official, who briefed reporters along with officials from other agencies on the condition their names not be used, said the FBI was working to identify the 100 or so tips that did warrant further investigation.

“I don’t want to cause alarm and panic, but you can’t ignore the sightings that have been there, and we are concerned about those just as much as anybody else is,” the FBI official said. “We’re doing our best to find the origin of that specific — of those drone activities. But I think there has been a slight overreaction.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., talks to reporters on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, after she was elected as chair of Senate Democrats' Steering and Policy Committee, the No. 3 leadership post. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats in closed-door elections Tuesday selected leaders for their caucus, and elevated Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar to the No. 3 spot and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker to No. 4.

Klobuchar will replace retiring Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow as the chair of the influential Steering and Policy Committee.

“I am someone that believes you need to stand your ground, but also find common ground and look for solutions,” Klobuchar said during a Tuesday press conference. 

Booker joined the leadership ranks in a newly created position as the chair of the Strategic Communications Committee.

“I look forward to serving not just this caucus, but really the larger mission of advancing our country and advancing an agenda that really is focused on Americans,” Booker said.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin was elected again to serve as the party’s whip, the No. 2 Democrat.

Chuck Schumer of New York was unanimously elected as Democrats’ leader, according to a Senate Democratic leadership aide. Schumer has been the Democratic leader since 2017, after the late Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada retired.

“Our caucus has led the way in passing historic legislation that has improved the lives of millions of Americans and we remain laser focused on addressing the most pressing challenges facing our country,” Schumer said in a statement after the elections. 

“We have a lot of work ahead — in the Senate and as a country — and in this upcoming Congress, our caucus will continue to fight for what’s best for America’s working class. Senate Democrats are ready to get to work for you, the American people,” he continued.

Shift in control

The party leadership elections came as Democrats lost their slim majority in the Senate, and Republicans picked up four seats in Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia last month. Republicans will be in the majority, 53-47.

Despite losing control of the upper chamber when the new Congress convenes in January, Schumer said Democrats will aim to work in a bipartisan manner.

“As I have long said, our preference is to secure bipartisan solutions wherever possible and look for ways to collaborate with our Republican colleagues to help working families,” Schumer said. “However, our Republican colleagues should make no mistake about it, we will always stand up for our values.”

‘We defied gravity’

Klobuchar said she will miss her Senate colleagues like Ohio’s Sherrod Brown and Montana’s Jon Tester, both defeated in their reelection bids.

But she said Democrats still won tough races in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin, which she credited to Schumer’s efforts.

“And in many ways when you look at this election,” Klobuchar said, drawing out a purposeful pause before she continued, “we defied gravity.”

She then looked around the room and asked reporters what she was referencing, until one grumbled: “Wicked.”

“That’s right, we defied gravity,” Klobuchar said, proud of her pop culture reference to a song in the newly released movie “Wicked.”

“And that is what we will continue to do in terms of reaching out to these people in our country, to the voters who maybe didn’t hear us as well as they should have, and so that’s one of the reasons I’m so excited to be working with Cory (Booker) on this,” Klobuchar said.

Among other leadership positions, Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Mark Warner of Virginia were elected as co-vice chairs of the conference.

Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin was elected as the Senate Democratic Conference secretary and Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto as the vice chair of Outreach. The chair of Outreach is Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.