Sunday snapshot: Drone debate rolls on following arrests
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Alejandro Mayorkas looks on as President Biden, not pictured, speaks on the federal response to hurricanes Helene and Milton in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Oct. 11. Photo: Aaron Schwartz/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images
East Coast communities, local, state and federal authorities all are watching the skies as the drone conundrum deepens. As the White House works to quell concerns over the unmanned aerial vehicles spotted in several states, calls grow for more transparency and resources.
Here's what you may have missed when newsmakers hit the airwaves this Sunday, December 15.
1. Mayorkas: Americans will be told if drones are a threat
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a Sunday interview Americans will be told if evidence arises that foreign actors are responsible for the drones spotted flying over several East Coast states.
Driving the news: Two were arrested Saturday night on Long Island following a "hazardous drone operation" near Logan Airport, per the Boston Police Department.
- It's unknown if the arrests have any connection to other sightings.
The big picture: Mayorkas said there's "no question" drones are being spotted and that the federal government has deployed resources to assist New Jersey State Police.
- "We know of no foreign involvement with respect to the sightings in the northeast," Mayorkas said on ABC News' "This Week."
- "If we identify any foreign involvement or criminal activity, we will communicate with the American public accordingly," he said.
Conspiracy theories regarding the drones have certainly spread: Some have argued they are part of a phony alien invasion orchestrated by global elites, while Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) claimed an Iranian mothership was to blame.
- Jim Himes (Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said on "Fox News Sunday" that the answer of "we don't know" from some federal agencies is not good enough.
- But, Himes added, "Let me say something I know with confidence: It is not the Iranians; it is not the Chinese. [The drones] aren't Martians."
- Mayorkas suggested Sunday that 2023 FAA regulatory changes allowing drones to be flown at night could partially be behind the increase in sightings.
President-elect Trump suggested the drones be shot down in a Truth Social post, sharing a sentiment echoed by lawmakers from both parties.
- Mayorkas argued it's not that simple as only "certain agencies" can do that: "We are limited in our authorities."
- "We need from Congress additional authorities to address the drone situation," including allowing state and local agencies the ability to deal with drones, he told ABC's George Stephanopoulos in a "This Week" interview.
Reality check: A Joint Staff spokesperson acknowledged to reporters Saturday that there had been sightings of drones over two New Jersey military installations — but said that is not atypical.
What's next: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said she may present legislation to the upcoming Congress pushing for expanded authorities to regulate the proliferation of drones.
2. Klobuchar condemns some of Biden's pardons
President Biden unleashed an avalanche of commutations and pardons Thursday, setting a single-day record for clemency.
- He commuted the sentences of 1,500 Americans placed in home confinement during the pandemic and pardoned another 39 people.
Friction point: Not every Democrat is celebrating the move.
- One clemency recipient who has sparked criticism was convicted for wrongly sending kids to jail in exchange for millions in kickbacks from private for-profit juvenile facilities ("Did not like that one," Klobuchar said Sunday).
- Another was convicted of overseeing a more than $1.6 billion tax fraud scheme and described by prosecutors as "the most prolific, pernicious and utterly unrepentant tax cheat in United States history," per Forbes.
What she's saying: "I have no doubt there were some righteous pardons in this group," Klobuchar said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday. "But there were a number that I think make no sense at all."
- Klobuchar pointed to a commutation given to a Minnesota man who experts said sold enough synthetic drugs to cause a public health crisis in his town, per the Minnesota Star Tribune.
- She said she didn't approve of Biden pardoning his son, Hunter Biden, but noted she hasn't "agreed with a number of pardons that President Trump gave," either.
Zoom out: There has been rampant discussion of whether Biden should give preemptive pardons to those whom Trump may target once back in the White House.
- Democratic Rep. and Sen.-elect Adam Schiff (Calif.), who Trump has described as an "enemy," said on ABC's "This Week" that granting blanket preemptive pardons in the final days of an outgoing administration is "a precedent we don't want to set."
Klobuchar said Biden's sweeping use of pardons shows that the "whole process cries out for reform."
- She characterized the clemency announcement as undermining the justice system, intelligence officials and prosecutors.
- "Let's at least look at these on a factual basis and a risk basis, instead of just in the middle of the night a month before a president leaves," she said.
3. Romney says GOP belongs wholly to Trump
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said Sunday that the future of the GOP is in President-elect Trump's hands.
Driving the news: "MAGA is the Republican Party, and Donald Trump is the Republican Party today," Romney told CNN's Jake Tapper when asked if there would be a post-Trump GOP.
What they're saying: "The Republican Party has become the party of the working-class, middle-class voter. And you've got to give Donald Trump credit for having done that, taken that away from the Democrats," Romney said on CNN's "State of the Union."
- He added that Democrats, like Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) pushed middle-class voters to the GOP with policies like defunding the police and "biological males in women's sports."
- Romney conceded that some of the GOP policies don't always align with those of its voters and "some reorientation" will be necessary.
Zoom in: Romney, who is leaving Congress next month, contended that Democrats are in trouble as many view the party as "college professors and woke scolds."
- "I'm not going to tell them what to do ... But they've lost their base," he said.
More from Axios' Sunday coverage:
