A series of "unidentified" drones have been spotted hovering over the Washington D.C. military base where Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth live, prompting the U.S. government to consider relocating them.
The military is closely monitoring potential threats to senior government figures amid the Trump administration's war on Iran, but according to a Washington Post report, the origin of the drones that have breached the airspace above Fort Lesley J. McNair remains a mystery.
The newspaper spoke to three people briefed on the matter, who, on condition of anonymity, said multiple sightings occurred on a single night within the past 10 days, prompting an immediate security review and a White House meeting on how to respond.
The incidents come at a moment of heightened alert as the U.S. and Israel continue striking Iran and the drone activity over McNair coincides with a broader tightening of security across the U.S. military.
Several domestic bases have raised their force‑protection levels to "Charlie,” a designation used when commanders have intelligence indicating a possible attack. Joint Base McGuire‑Dix‑Lakehurst in New Jersey and MacDill Air Force Base in Florida – home to U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations against Iran – were both escalated to Charlie this week.
MacDill has faced two separate security scares in recent days: a suspicious package that shut down its visitors center for hours on Monday, and an unspecified incident on Wednesday that forced a shelter‑in‑place order across the installation.
The only higher designation than Charlie is "Delta", which means that an attack is imminent or has occurred.
“To ensure the safety and security of our people and the mission, commanders adjust their installation’s security posture in accordance with local threat assessments,” an Air Force spokesperson said.
The State Department, meanwhile, has ordered all U.S. diplomatic posts worldwide to conduct immediate security evaluations, citing “the ongoing and developing situation in the Middle East and the potential for spillover effects,” according to The Post report.
The presence of drones over Fort McNair was serious enough that officials have discussed relocating Rubio and Hegseth, two of the paper's sources said. However, a senior administration official said the secretaries have not moved. Their residence on the base – unusual for political leaders – was publicly reported last October.
Fort McNair is home to the National Defense University and some of the Pentagon’s most senior officers. Its location near Capitol Hill and the White House makes it geographically convenient, but it does not have as strong a safety buffer zone as other bases around Washington.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said: “The department cannot comment on the secretary’s movements for security reasons, and reporting on such movements is grossly irresponsible."
The mystery drones echo earlier episodes in which U.S. officials suspected Iranian operatives of probing or targeting senior American leaders. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Secret Service agents protecting Donald Trump repeatedly encountered unidentified drones – including during a Los Angeles news conference and a motorcade through rural Pennsylvania.
While investigators never linked Iran to those specific incidents, they could not rule out a connection.
Iranian threats against former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former National Security Adviser John Bolton – both of whom Tehran blamed for the 2020 killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani – led the Biden administration to extend their government security protection. Trump rescinded those protections in 2025.
The Independent has contacted the Pentagon for comment.
