Ranking Member McCollum: Department of Defense Must Answer for Airspace Closure at El Paso

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Betty McCollum, Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, issued the following statement on Friday in response to the Trump Administration’s recent actions regarding an airspace closure in El Paso: 

“The closure of El Paso’s airspace this week was a dangerous failure of competence by the Trump administration that undermines public trust and safety,” said Congresswoman McCollum. “Public reporting indicates that the cause of the Federal Aviation Administration’s flight restrictions was the use of a directed energy weapon operated by Customs and Border Protection but owned by the Department of Defense. 

“Why is the DoD providing this lethal equipment to CBP without informing Congress? Congress deserves clear, immediate answers from the Administration on the chain of events that led to the FAA’s decision making. That includes an explanation on why senior administration officials publicly stated that the incident was related to drone incursions by Mexican drug cartels, information that appears to be untrue. Ultimately, if this was DoD technology, operated on a DoD installation, then Secretary Hegseth is directly responsible for the failure to notify the FAA and must answer to Congress for it. The American people deserve answers.”