Amid public confusion and concern over the sudden 10-day FAA airspace closure over El Paso on Wednesday morning, Gov. Greg Abbott has remained silent. While lawmakers, local officials, and federal authorities scrambled to explain the unprecedented move, Abbott offered no statements, social media updates or public appearances addressing the incident.
As of late Wednesday—12 hours after the FAA first announced the shutdown of airspace over the El Paso—Abbott had declined to share new information or publicly speak on the incident, even after the FAA reopened the airspace over El Paso.
Chron contacted Abbott’s office for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. Post publication, a spokesperson for Abbott’s office said he addressed the incident at an event in Houston.
“I’m just going to repeat to you from what I’ve heard in general from the US Secretary of Transportation, and that is the reason for the closure was, again, what I heard, is because of drones from Mexican drug cartels that posed a threat to the air traffic in the area,” Abbott reportedly said at the event. “And I assume they were able to clear it up so quickly because the United States government was able to eliminate that threat to ensure safe travel for everybody in that area.”
The governor had still not issued a public statement beyond what the spokesperson provided regarding his remarks at Wednesday’s event as of Wednesday evening.
Abbott’s press office’s X account did reshare a post debunking a fake Texas Department of Public Safety memo circulating online that announced temporary 10-day road closures in the El Paso area, but had not posted any direction information on the airspace closure itself.
GOP U.S. Senator Ted Cruz broke his silence hours after the closure ended, writing on X that his team has been working with the “FAA, DOW and others” to gather more information.
“I’m hopeful more details can be publicly shared in the coming days on interagency coordination,” Cruz wrote on X.
As of late Wednesday morning, other top Republicans remained close-lipped about the situation, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
U.S. Senator John Cornyn reposted a statement shared by U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that detailed the claim that the closure was linked to a Mexican cartel drone coming into U.S. airspace.
“The FAA and DOW acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion. The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region,” Duffy’s X post read. “The restrictions have been lifted, and normal flights are resuming.”
A slew of Texas Democrats challenged the provided reasoning for the initial 10-day closure. When asked by the media whether she knew what the decision was based on, but was unable to share the reasoning publicly, U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar—who represents El Paso—said that was correct.
“That is why the information from the administration does not add up, and it is not the information that I was able to gather overnight and this morning,” Escobar said during a Wednesday press conference.
Others echoed Escobar, urging the FAA and the Trump administration to provide more answers.
Updated reports indicated that the initial closure stemmed from the Pentagon’s plans to test a laser for use in shooting down drones used by Mexican drug cartels, which reportedly caused friction with the FAA, due to the agency wanting to ensure commercial air safety.
The two agencies were reportedly scheduled to meet over the matter later this month; however, the Pentagon wanted to proceed with testing the technology, prompting the FAA to close the airspace. It was not immediately known if the laser was deployed.
This explanation is contrary to earlier reports, including Duffy’s statement connecting the temporary shuttering of the airspace to a Mexican cartel drone coming into U.S. airspace. Drone incursions are not uncommon in the region.
