A temporary shutdown of airspace over El Paso, Texas, triggered confusion on Capitol Hill Wednesday, with Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz announcing plans to seek a classified briefing to clarify what happened.
The Federal Aviation Administration briefly closed the airspace earlier in the day, setting off hours of conflicting explanations from federal officials.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy initially attributed the incident to a “cartel drone incursion,” writing on X that the restriction had been lifted and flights were resuming. However, reporting later indicated the closure may have stemmed from a dispute between the FAA and the Department of Defense over the military’s testing of anti-drone technology at a nearby Army base.
Speaking to reporters after an unrelated congressional briefing with FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, Cruz said he did not yet have definitive answers.
“I have no reason to doubt what the secretary said, but I think a number of us would like to see a classified briefing very soon,” the Texas Republican said. “At this point, the details of what exactly occurred over El Paso are unclear.”
Bedford, when pressed about the situation, referred questions back to Duffy’s public statement. “Read Secretary Duffy’s tweet,” he said.
But some lawmakers emerged from the closed-door session suggesting the situation was more complicated.
Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) told reporters that Bedford’s discussion indicated a significant communication breakdown between the FAA and the Department of Defense.
“There needs to be a briefing in the SCIF if they’re not willing to talk to us in here and explain to the American people what’s going on,” Luján said, referring to a secure facility used for classified briefings. “Why one federal agency can’t talk to another federal agency to explain whether it’s a training mission or it’s an incursion, or whatever the hell is going on.”
He added bluntly: “Why didn’t they pick up the phone and call each other?”
Luján said Bedford did not object to the idea of a follow-up classified briefing.
For now, lawmakers from both parties appear to agree on one point: the public explanations have not fully resolved the confusion. A classified briefing in the coming days could determine whether the incident was a genuine security threat, a bureaucratic misfire, or something in between.
