BREAKING: Trump White House reveals drones over NJ were authorized by FAA for research

Leavitt read out a statement from President Donald Trump, saying, "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."

"Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones. In time, it got worse due to curiosity. This was not the enemy."

Ahead of taking office, Trump told reporters on the topic of the New Jersey drones, "Look, our military knows where they took off from. If it's a garage, they can go right into that garage. They know where it came from and where it went. And for some reason, they don't want to comment. And I think they'd be better off saying what it is. Our military knows and our president knows. And for some reason, they want to keep people in suspense. I can't imagine it's the enemy because it was the enemy they's blast it out." President Joe Biden had refused to reveal the purpose or function of the drones, leading to wild speculation.

The FAA had issued "temporary flight restrictions" over Bedminster, New Jersey, which included Trump's golf course. The FAA said earlier in December, "Safely integrating drones into the National Airspace System is a key priority for the FAA. We look into all reports of unauthorized drone operations and investigate when appropriate,"

The FBI and DHS had released a joint statement on December 13 stating that "We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus. The FBI, DHS and our federal partners, in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police, continue to deploy personnel and technology to investigate this situation and confirm whether the reported drone flights are actually drones or are instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate sightings."

"Historically, we have experienced cases of mistaken identity, where reported drones are, in fact, manned aircraft or facilities. We are supporting local law enforcement in New Jersey with numerous detection methods but have not corroborated any of the reported visual sightings with electronic detection," they added.

The presence of drones also led to air traffic in and out of Stewart International Airport being temporarily blocked, with New York Governor Kathy Hochul saying in a statement, "Last night, the runways at Stewart Airfield were shut down for approximately one hour due to drone activity in the airspace. This has gone too far."