Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday on ABC's “This Week” that the department's authority to shoot down drones is “limited.”
“Thousands of drones fly in the United States every day, both recreational and commercial,” Mayorkas said. We changed the rules to allow them to fly. That's one of the reasons people are seeing more drones than before. That may be the case, especially from dawn to dusk, but I want to assure the American people that we are on track. We are working closely with the As we have all said, it is critical that we need additional authority from Congress to address the drone situation. Our current authority is limited and has expired. We need to expand and expand them.”
“We also want state and local governments to have the ability to counter drone activity under federal oversight,” he added. I have heard similar opinions from local government officials themselves.”
Host George Stephanopoulos said, “As you know, President-elect Trump posted about this, and I'd like to put it on the screen right away. He said there have been mysterious drone sightings all over the country.'' Is this really happening without the government's knowledge? I don't think so. Let's let the people know. Or shoot them down.'' ”
“We are aware of the drone sightings. As I mentioned earlier, I believe there are over 8,000 drones flying in the United States every day,” Mayorkas said. There are limits to their authority. There are certain agencies within the Department of Homeland Security and outside the Department that can do that, but those authorities also need to be expanded.”
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