Members of Congress were told on Thursday that the U.S. Department of Defense shot down a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) drone over El Paso, Texas. The Pentagon, CBP and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a joint statement.
The agencies reported that the incident “occurred when the Department of War employed counter-unmanned aircraft system authorities to mitigate a seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace,” and that it “took place far away from populated areas and there were no commercial aircraft in the vicinity.”
Democratic members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure responded to the incident in a statement: “Our heads are exploding over the news that DoD reportedly shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone using a high risk counter-unmanned aircraft system.”
https://t.co/mHEtM7cpsa pic.twitter.com/S2mzhlGsZW
— Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (@TransportDems) February 27, 2026
Former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, a Republican who also served as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during the George W. Bush administration, also criticized the Trump administration.
Whitman wrote on social media: “2 weeks ago, they closed the El Paso airspace to shoot down a drone that ended up being a party balloon. Now we learn they closed the airspace again & this time they shot down a drone, except it was one of ours. Can this administration do anything right? Does anyone feel safe?”
2 weeks ago, they closed the El Paso airspace to shoot down a drone that ended up being a party balloon. Now we learn they closed the airspace again & this time they shot down a drone, except it was one of ours. Can this administration do anything right? Does anyone feel safe?
— Governor Christine Todd Whitman (@GovCTW) February 27, 2026
The first incident Whitman references caused the FAA to abruptly shut down airspace over El Paso earlier this month. Many media outlets reported that a laser was used by the DHS to shoot down a balloon, though the Trump administration said the shutdown was related to “the military neutralizing cartel drones, not a balloon.”
Note: In 2022, Whitman joined former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang to form the Forward Party, a centrist third party. She endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election and Democratic nominee Mikie Sherrill in the 2025 New Jersey gubernatorial election over Trump-endorsed Jack Ciattarelli.