In recent remarks, President Donald Trump told supporters that the Pentagon is preparing to release UFO files, framing the disclosures as potentially noteworthy “very interesting” documents that he said would arrive “very, very soon.” The comments, made during a White House event celebrating NASA astronauts, continued a months-long push by Trump administration officials and allies to spotlight UFO and unidentified anomalous phenomena records.
Trump’s remarks come after he directed federal agencies earlier in his term to release records related to extraterrestrial life and UFOs. In describing the effort, Trump referenced a directive calling for transparency around “alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs).” In April, he told a Turning Point USA crowd in Phoenix that “the first releases will begin very, very soon,” adding that supporters could “go out and see if that phenomena is correct.”
The Pentagon’s involvement runs through an existing declassification effort for UAP. Congressional action in 2022 created an office to investigate UAP and declassify materials, and the office’s work now sits under the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office. According to a Pentagon statement cited by AP, that office is working with the White House to release “never-before-seen UAP information.”
Even so, some officials who previously led the program have pushed back against the idea that the new documents will necessarily contain extraordinary evidence. Sean Kirkpatrick, a physicist and former career intelligence officer who led the office until 2023, told AP that he has reviewed the government’s records and believes there are “no bombshell revelations.” He said “Readers should not get their hopes up that there’s going to be some document with photos, interviewing the aliens when they came down,” adding that such material “just doesn’t exist.”
Kirkpatrick also pointed to the kinds of explanations he said can account for viral footage that is often presented as alien technology. He said modern infrared cameras used by the U.S. military can capture jet engines and other hot objects in a long thermal bloom, which he said explains viral videos of speedy, pill-shaped objects.
On Capitol Hill, the push for more disclosure has also taken on a political edge, with a small group of Trump-aligned Republicans insisting the Pentagon is withholding secrets. The Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, which Rep. Anna Paulina Luna co-chairs, has conducted its own investigation into reports of mysterious aircraft near U.S. military installations. AP reported that last fall the panel heard testimony from current and former service members describing UAP encounters, including an account from a senior Navy officer who described seeing a glowing “Tic Tac” shaped object emerge from the ocean off the coast of California in 2023 and link up with three similar objects before they “sped away in an instant.”
Luna has pressed the Pentagon for additional materials and has described transparency as insufficient. In a March letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, she demanded dozens of UAP videos identified by whistleblowers and labeled with names such as “Spherical UAP in clouds,” and AP reported that her deadline passed without videos being produced. Luna also drew attention to Trump’s UFO comments, telling followers on social media that the Pentagon “can’t hide from our docs request anymore!” after Trump’s directive.
Vice President JD Vance has also tied his public profile to UFO files, describing himself as “obsessed” with such disclosures. AP reported that in March Vance told podcaster Benny Johnson he was trying to investigate Area 51 since taking office, saying, “I’ve still got three more years as vice president” and adding, “I will get to the bottom of the UFO files.” Vance said he believes sightings reported to be aliens are actually the work of spiritual demons, invoking his Christian faith.
The renewed emphasis on UFO records is taking place against a longer record of U.S. government and presidential interest in the subject. AP said the U.S. government has investigated UFO reports since the 1940s, in part to determine whether they involve advanced technology from competing nations, and it noted that presidents including Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan have claimed to have seen UFOs. It also reported that Barack Obama made remarks in February that prompted attention online, later clarifying that he had seen no evidence but that “the odds are good there’s life out there.”
AP reported that online communities remain divided over what Trump’s promise will deliver, with some seeing the effort as a meaningful step and others saying that expectations for major revelations have often outpaced what has actually been released. Greg Eghigian, a Pennsylvania State University professor who wrote a book on the history of UFO sightings, told AP that “There is almost no satisfaction that is possible for many of the really die-hard folks,” adding that disappointment can be “guaranteed to be expected” regardless of what emerges.