Lawmaker spotlights growing calls for interagency plan to ...
AI Analysis
Rep. Gabe Vasquez highlights the need for a unified interagency strategy to address drone threats in the U.S., as current efforts under the Trump administration focus on expanding counter-UAS capabilities. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act provides significant funding for states and cities to acquire counter-drone technologies.
Key Takeaways
- Rep. Gabe Vasquez calls for a unified interagency strategy to counter drone threats.
- The Trump administration is expanding counter-UAS capabilities with a focus on American-made systems.
- The One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes a $500 million grant for counter-drone assets.
- Vasquez has observed cartel-related drone activity at the U.S.-Mexico border.
- Federal guidance is urged to address illicit drone usage impacting public safety and national security.
Why It Matters
The lack of a cohesive interagency approach to counter drone threats poses a risk to national security and public safety, particularly with increasing illicit drone activities. The significant funding and policy directives under the Trump administration aim to bolster domestic counter-UAS capabilities, which could enhance the U.S.'s ability to protect its communities and infrastructure.
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- Tech# Lawmaker spotlights growing calls for interagency plan to counter drone threats in US The U.S. government lacks a unified strategy to collectively protect American communities from emerging drone threats, Rep. Gabe Vasquez warns. ByBrandi Vincent November 25, 2025
Listen to this article 0:00 Learn more.This feature uses an automated voice, which may result in occasional errors in pronunciation, tone, or sentiment. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., attends a news conference to introduce members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus outside the U.S. Capitol on Friday, November 15, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) While the U.S. military and federal agencies move to rapidly expand their arsenals and adoption of counter-drone capabilities under the second Trump administration, experts warn the government lacks a unified interagency strategy to collectively protect American communities from emerging drone threats. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., wants to change that. “This is a national security issue, and I’m calling on the administration to give law enforcement the tools they need to keep our communities safe,” Vasquez told DefenseScoop in an email Tuesday. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee who says he’s witnessed impacts of cartel-involved drone activity in his home state during past trips to the U.S.-Mexico border, Vasquezsent a letter this week urgingDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford to jointly establish “new, clear, and effective federal guidance to address the rising threat that illicit drone usage poses to public safety and national security.” Advertisement President Donald Trumpissued a slew of policiesthis summer directing the Pentagon and federal agencies to buy and deploymore American-made uncrewed aerial systems and counter-UAS platformsin a way that simultaneously propels the nation’s drone industry as