Secret Service already runs White House surveillance drones amid Trump's port push

The Secret Service is already flying surveillance drones near the White House as Donald Trump pushes a larger drone port above the new ballroom. The contrast has fuelled questions over the practicality, oversight and symbolism of further militarising the complex.

In Short

• The existing set-up uses small unarmed drones with cameras and sensors
• Experts say perimeter sweeps are more practical than missile-carrying defence drones
• Security upgrades intensified after the 2024 Butler rally assassination attempt

President Donald Trump has described an AI-driven drone port planned on top of the new White House ballroom as a major security measure, with images showing missile-carrying drones and armed troops guarding the White House complex and Washington. But a few hundred feet away, the US Secret Service is already operating a quieter drone system from a Treasury Department building next to the White House, using small surveillance drones equipped with cameras and sensors.

The previously unreported Secret Service set-up uses unarmed drones as flying cameras, a model known as "drone as first responder" that has been adopted by hundreds of police agencies across the United States. Its existence comes as Trump argues that the ballroom project is needed "to protect the White House and surrounding region from aerial attacks", a national security justification he is also citing for a large arch outside Arlington National Cemetery.

The drones used by the Secret Service sit in four grey weatherproof boxes until officers deploy them. The agency said the new docks are separate from Trump's ballroom drone port, and declined to comment on the specifics of its operations. The White House did not comment.

Drone experts said the Secret Service system appears far more practical than the attack-drone vision shown in Trump's AI images. "To be honest, if a drone was so close to the White House that it needed interdiction, it's already gotten too far," said Matt Sloane, co-founder of SkyfireAI, which makes software for drones used by public safety agencies. He said a more realistic model would be what the Secret Service is already using: "The drone takes off and does some type of perimeter sweep or whatever, and then puts itself back in the box."

Security at the White House is generally handled by the Secret Service, working with the White House Military Office and other military elements when needed. Trump has said the drone port was requested by US military officials. Speaking to reporters in May, he said the ballroom plans were expanded because "they wanted more drone capacity". On social media, he said the drone port could become the "most sophisticated" in the world.

It remains unclear what exactly Trump plans to build beyond what is already in place. Apart from the AI images, some of which were included in his appeal to the US Supreme Court seeking to lift lower court blocks on the construction, the White House has not disclosed what kinds of drones would be used or what tactical role they would serve. The Secret Service, by contrast, is using much smaller surveillance drones. Similar drones were bought by the US Air Force in April to protect bases in the Middle East, and were also supplied for security at World Cup matches this year.

The Secret Service has been expanding its drone and counter-drone programmes for years, but the work intensified after the 2024 attempted assassination of Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The agency was criticised then for not acting against a drone used by the shooter to scout the attack and for not flying one of its own to give overhead coverage. In the weeks that followed, tethered and untethered surveillance drones became common at campaign rallies and large events at the White House complex.

In an online video, the Secret Service said its Skydio drones provide "real-time situational awareness" and "aerial overwatch". Dustin Talbott of the agency's Aviation and Airspace Security Division said: "It allows you to see the threat before it becomes an issue, and to task assets accordingly. We no longer wait for the threat to reveal itself. We find it first." Skydio did not comment.

Trump has made a stronger drone presence around the White House a priority amid rising political violence and changes in drone warfare. Paul Eckloff, a former supervisor of the Secret Service's presidential protection division, said the Russia-Ukraine war had underlined the risks posed by drones, including commercially available models that can cause major damage. Javed Ali, who served on the National Security Council during Trump's first term and now teaches at the University of Michigan, said drone concerns had shifted from overseas battlefields to domestic security.

Ali also said a busy drone port on top of the White House would face major practical questions. "There's a whole host of questions, like who is responsible for overseeing it, and how would there be any de-confliction with commercial airspace?" he said. Those concerns were highlighted this year when the US military used a laser to bring down a drone near El Paso, Texas, only to discover it belonged to Customs and Border Protection, briefly prompting the FAA to close nearby airspace. Any drone hub at the White House would also have to operate in crowded airspace near Reagan Washington National Airport and routes used by other military aircraft.

Trump began speaking publicly about the drone port in May, weeks after a federal judge stopped ballroom construction but allowed security-related work to continue. He later referred to the ballroom as a "military complex", using that security role in court. In August, the Supreme Court allowed construction to continue while the legal challenge proceeds.

Opponents say Trump is turning the White House into a fortress. Edward Lengel, a former chief historian for the White House Historical Association, said Trump had militarised the White House on a scale that conflicted with its identity as "the people's house". "It turns it into a big giant porcupine that has its spines pointing out against the people and against the world," Lengel said. Trump has said the White House was in "very bad condition" when he returned to office and was exposed to modern threats. At a Rose Garden dinner for law enforcement officials in May, he looked up as a low-flying bird passed overhead and said, "I thought that was a drone. They make them in all different sizes nowadays - they can be very destructive, as you've probably heard." Overall, the debate over the White House drone port now sits between the existing Secret Service surveillance system, Trump's broader security plans and continued questions over how far the project will go.

With PTI Inputs

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