How will Democrats address UFO sightings if returned to the majority?

Unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have long captivated Americans — a majority of whom , recent polling suggests, believe the government is hiding information about the phenomena. And the debate has also made its way to Capitol Hill.

In recent years, conversations surrounding UFOs, which the government now refers to as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), have heated up on both sides of the congressional political aisle.

In 2022, under a Democratic majority, a House Intelligence subcommittee held the first congressional hearing on UFOs in over five decades. Two officials leading the Pentagon’s UAP task force testified, with one making clear they were encouraging pilots to report sightings.

Americans still remain distrustful of the government’s handling of these phenomena. An August Gallup poll found that, while nearly half of Americans are skeptical that UFOs are of extraterrestrial origin, 78 percent believe the government knows more about the sightings than it tells the public.

In line with the public’s fascination, the second Trump administration has declassified files on UFOs and created a new governance board to coordinate investigations into reports of sightings.

Some lawmakers have taken an active role in calling for government transparency on the topic. And, with Democrats likely to take back control of the House next year, The Hill has broken down how the party’s UFO clarity advocates may address investigations and declassifications.

Democratic leadership has previously backed efforts to increase transparency surrounding federal UFO investigations. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Democrats’ likely House speaker choice should the party reclaim the lower chamber and current Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) step down, said in 2023 he supported sharing data on the phenomena with the public whenever feasible.

“I do support transparency to the extent this information that can be put into the public domain that is enlightening, one way or the other, and perhaps is able to dismiss some of the conspiracy theories that exist increasingly in our society,” Jeffries said in July 2023, as reported by The Hill’s broadcasting partner, NewsNation.

But Congress also has a caucus already dedicated to investigating and declassifying UFO information.

In 2023, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) founded the UAP Caucus, which currently includes himself as well as Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) and Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.).

The caucus is “dedicated to the study, disclosure, and policy development surrounding” UFOs, according to its website , and hopes to expand the group to include the Senate.

Moskowitz is the caucus’s only Democrat, and he is in a tough battle for reelection after Florida Republicans redrew the state’s congressional districts. Two more members are set to leave the caucus, as Mace is retiring and Ogles lost renomination .

But the caucus also includes “honorable mentions” — members, including senators, who are not technically part of the caucus but are “instrumental” in supporting its goals.

‘Honorable mention’ Democrats support the cause

The Hill reached out to House Democrats running for reelection who are listed as either members or “honorable mentions” of the UAP Caucus.

Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.), one of the caucus’s honorable mentions, accused the Trump administration in a statement sent to The Hill of having “slow walked” UFO reporting and investigation transparency efforts. He specifically singled out a “historical UAP record report” and called for its immediate release.

“I’m calling for the immediate release of this report, which is expected to provide additional findings of historical military and intelligence investigations of UAP, including how incidents were investigated, the role of classified programs, and whether relevant activities were appropriately disclosed to Congress,” Carson said .

During the 2022 House hearing, Carson pushed to destigmatize UFO reporting for pilots and other military officials. The Indiana Democrat said at the time the stigma around the phenomena had “gotten in the way of good intelligence reporting,” as he alleged some pilots “were laughed at” when the reported unidentified aircraft.

Carson is a member of the House Intelligence Committee. Other House Democrats on the UAP Caucus “honorable mentions” list include Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ro Khanna (Calif.) and Jamie Raskin (Md.).