The “mystery” drones flying over New Jersey and other parts of the country were authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Tuesday during the first press briefing of the second Trump administration.

Leavitt made the announcement before taking questions from reporters, many of whom were ostracized by the previous administration, including Breitbart News.

“Before I turn to questions, I do have news directly from the President of the United States that was just shared with me in the Oval Office,” Leavitt said.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds her first news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on January 28, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Nicholas Gilbertson/Breitbart News)

“From President Trump directly, an update on the New Jersey drones,” she said. “After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey, in large numbers, were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons.”

However, she did not elaborate on what this “research” entailed, nor what the “various other reasons” meant, specifically. She did add that some of the drones were “also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones.”

“In time, it got worse due to curiosity,” she said, making it clear that “this was not the enemy.”

“It’s a statement from the President of the United States to start this briefing with some news,” she added before taking questions.

The drone mystery plagued the country at the end of 2024, raising concerns.

The Biden administration, at the time, failed to give the American people any specifics. Rather, the American people had to cling to a joint statement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), which simply stated that there was “no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.”