For weeks starting just after Thanksgiving 2024, people across New Jersey and the East Coast reported large numbers of drones and lights in the night sky. Some appeared over sensitive sites, including the Picatinny Arsenal military base and the president’s golf club in Bedminster. The FAA imposed temporary flight restrictions at the request of federal security partners.

On January 28, 2025, in her first briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt read what she said was a statement directly from President Trump. The drones, she said, had been authorized by the FAA “for research and various other reasons,” and many others were flown by hobbyists whose numbers grew out of curiosity. “This was not the enemy,” she said.

The statement did not say who flew the research drones, what the research was or which agency sponsored it. No reporters asked follow-up questions in the room. New Jersey local leaders said afterward they were disappointed by how vague it was. Commentators noted that the explanation doesn’t account for the many sightings that turned out to be planes or stars. It also sits awkwardly with Trump’s earlier suggestion that the previous administration was hiding something.

The flight restrictions ended January 17. No further details have been released.