Rand Paul blocks bill responding to drone sightings: Shouldn’t rush to grant ‘sweeping surveillance powers’

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., blocked a Senate bill Wednesday that would have authorized resources for state and local authorities to track drones that have mystified residents across New Jersey and the Northeast in recent weeks. 

Paul objected to the passage of the bill, citing his long-standing concerns over expanding governmental powers. 

“This body must not rush to grant sweeping surveillance powers without proper consideration and debate by the committees of jurisdiction,” he said.

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Sen. Rand Paul, ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, blocked a bill Wednesday that would have allowed local law enforcement agencies to track aerial drones. (AP)

Paul said the bill would “expand federal authority to intercept communications and disrupt drone activity – powers that raise serious concerns for Americans’ privacy, civil liberties, and Fourth Amendment protections against unwarranted search and seizure.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., sought to speed a bipartisan bill through the Senate by seeking unanimous consent on the floor before it was blocked by Paul. 

“The people in New York and New Jersey have a lot of questions, and they’re not getting good enough answers,” said Schumer. “The utter confusion surrounding these drone sightings shows that the feds can’t respond all on their own.”

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Photos taken in the Bay Shore section of Toms River of what appear to be large drones hovering in the area at high altitudes in New Jersey on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. The drones seemed to be well above the 400 feet height FAA regulations allow. (Doug Hood/Asbury Park Press)

In addition to giving local authorities the ability to track drones, the proposed legislation would expand some federal agencies’ authority to start a pilot program to allow states and local authorities to disrupt, disable or seize a drone without prior consent of the operator.

The drone sightings across the Northeast have worried some local and state officials, but the Biden administration has said the drones don’t appear to be a sign of foreign interference or a public safety threat.

However, they have not determined who is responsible for them. 

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President-elect Trump last week called for the administration to release information on the drones or shoot them down. Paul, who has often called for limiting governmental powers, said he objected to the bill because it wasn’t clear that urgent action was needed. 

“We’re being told that this legislation is urgent, that it is needed to address an imminent drone threat,” he said. “Yet the government itself admits no such threat exists.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.