Two U.S. government officials and a member of Congress pushed back on Wednesday on Trump administration claims about the reasons for the sudden closure of airspace over El Paso, Texas.

After the Federal Aviation Administration quickly rescinded an order to ground flights for 10 days, Sean Duffy, the secretary of transportation, and other Trump administration officials claimed that a Mexican drug cartel drone incursion prompted the shutdown. “The threat has been neutralized,” Duffy said. “Mexican cartel drones breached U.S. airspace. The Department of War took action to disable the drones,” another Trump administration official told The Intercept.

But two government officials with knowledge of the reasons for the shutdown say the closure was connected to the Department of War’s new counter-drone laser technology and a misunderstanding by — or miscommunication with — FAA headquarters of the risks........

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