The Federal Aviation Administration’s haphazard closure of the skies over El Paso, Texas, devolved into finger-pointing and recriminations inside the Trump administration.
It also exposed a new danger for airline passengers: counterdrone systems that could put civilian aircraft at risk.
In their public explanation, Trump administration officials blamed drones from Mexican drug cartels for the shutdown of airspace into early Wednesday. The sudden move stunned airlines and passengers in El Paso when the FAA announced the 10-day closure for “special security reasons,” before reopening airspace after seven hours.
Worldwide, military planners have rushed to develop technology to mitigate the rise of weaponized drones. Because of their low cost and profile, these drones have emerged as a significant threat.
Counterdrone systems range from high-powered lasers to global positioning jammers. Aviation safety experts fear the new technology could lead to unintended dangers for civil aviation.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, told MS NOW he is examining whether the Defense Department allowed Customs and Border Protection agents to use an antidrone laser days before FAA officials ordered the airport closed for 10 days.
Two congressional officials told MS NOW that the dispute between the FAA and the Pentagon that led to the closure began when FAA officials raised concerns that the laser had not been properly vetted for use around a civilian airport. Military officials said the FAA was fully informed of their plans.
Smith said the agencies’ contradictory accounts were unacceptable and an example of the Trump administration’s poor management.
“The big issue here is the unbelievable incompetence of the Trump administration,” Smith said. “A major airport is shut down for 10 days without explanation. A full day later DOD, FAA and CBP can’t even come close to telling us what actually happened, and the White House, responsible for all of them, is just sitting around with their thumb up their ass.”
This week’s testing took place at Fort Bliss. The military base shares facilities with the international airport in El Paso, which served more than 4 million passengers in 2024.
Among the concerns lawmakers raised after the incident: The Pentagon has a history of poor communication with the FAA — as was made tragically clear in the wake of the midair collision that killed 67 people last year near Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport.
Last week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told MS NOW that the FAA’s top three priorities are “safety, safety and safety.”
A federal official told MS NOW the FAA is now hypersensitive to safety risks. Its decision to shut airspace reflected that caution.
Duffy on Wednesday shared an explanation that shifted blame away from the Trump administration’s internal communication challenges: “The FAA and DOW acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion,” Duffy wrote, referring to the Department of War, as the administration calls the Department of Defense. “The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region. The restrictions have been lifted and normal flights are resuming.”
A congressional official said drone incursions from Mexico into U.S. airspace have occurred in the El Paso area for years. Trump administration officials say Mexican drug cartels fly drones into the U.S. to see where Border Patrol agents are located so smugglers can evade them.
The official said it was possible a drone incursion did occur in the El Paso area on Wednesday. But they said the FAA’s 10-day shutdown order came after military officials insisted on testing the high-energy laser in the Fort Bliss area near El Paso sooner than FAA officials expected.
U.S. military officials used the laser device earlier this week against what they believed was a drone operated by a cartel, but it turned out to be a party balloon, CBS News and The New York Times reported, citing people briefed on the situation. The people said the Pentagon operation was carried out without proper coordination with the FAA.
David Rohde
David Rohde is the senior national security reporter for MS NOW. Previously he was the senior executive editor for national security and law for NBC News.
Josh Einiger is the senior transportation reporter for MS NOW based in New York.