MAHWAH – Josh Gottheimer believes his constituents.

Even if the feds are saying something different.

The CD-5 congressman, a federal official himself, of course, weighed in once again Monday morning on the topic du jour – or is it the week?

That would be drones over New Jersey.

“I don’t believe they’re all making it up,” he told reporters at Ramapo College.

In other words, when his constituents say they are seeing drones in the night sky, he believes them.

During what is now a weeks-long saga, the federal government at times has said many of the “drones” are planes or helicopters.

Gottheimer doesn’t buy it.

“People should not have to worry about what’s overhead,” he said, adding that the feds’ response so far is “insulting.”

To help the public report what they are seeing, Gottheimer said he has created a drone page on his website – gottheimer.house.gov. This is a place for constituents to share what they are seeing. Gottheimer’s district covers parts of Bergen, Passaic and Sussex counties.

Moreover, the congressman said he wants the House to pass a resolution calling on the relevant federal agencies to hold a press conference and say what they know about the drones. Presumably, he is talking about the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.

Gottheimer wants a forum where officials talk about the problem and answer questions. Or as he said, “Not a paper statement.”

He ticked off some of the possibilities, including hobbyists doing some “joy riding” to someone trying to collect data.

If nothing else, the  congressman said drones should not be flying over military bases, reservoirs and the like.

Gottheimer is not alone in calling for the feds to provide more info.

Mikie Sherrill, a House colleague of Gottheimer, and like him, a 2025 gubernatorial candidate, released a statement on Monday.

“I’m incredibly frustrated with the lack of coordination and communication from agencies as New Jerseyans continue to watch unidentified drones fly across our skies. Right now, our leaders need to be acting in accordance with a unified plan, and speaking with one voice in order to protect our national security, keep New Jerseyans safe, and ensure state and local authorities have the information and tools they need to take action.”

Sherrill, who represents CD-11, and who is a former Navy helicopter pilot, called for the deployment of “Reaper drones.”

She added:

“Customs and Border Protection (CBP) possesses a fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones, unmanned aircraft that have the electro-optical/infra-red

(EO/IR) capabilities to track targets in various environments. Where appropriate, coordinating authorities should also have the use of counter-UAS radar systems that can accurately detect drones at site of launch – whether those systems are federal, commercial,  state, or locally operated.”

There’s more.

Those watching CNN early Monday morning saw Brian Bergen, an assemblyman from LD-26, talking about drones. Bergen also has an aviation background – having flown Apache helicopters in the Army.

Among the suggestions circulating on social media are to just shoot the drones down.

Bergen, who noted his military experience, said bullets flying around the sky over New Jersey is not a good idea.

This brings us back to the central point of Gottheimer’s event – what’s happening?

“We still don’t have a good explanation,” he said.

That assumes the “powers-that-be” know what the drones are all about.

Maybe, they don’t.