President Trump announced Friday at a Turning Point USA event in Phoenix that he will direct Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to release government files on UFOs and unexplained aerial phenomena (UAP).

"I recently directed the Secretary of War … to begin releasing government files relating to UFOs and unexplained aerial phenomena," Trump said. "And I figured this was a good crowd because you’re really into that, I don’t know if I am."

The President added that "this process was well underway and we’ve found many interesting documents, I must say, and the first releases will begin very, very soon."

The announcement follows Trump’s February post on Truth Social directing the Department of Defense to release files "related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs)."

What the Right Is Saying

Conservative Republicans have broadly welcomed the push for UFO disclosure, with many framing it as a matter of government transparency and accountability to taxpayers.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who has led multiple UAP hearings since 2023, called on Trump to "peel back the layers of that onion, let America decide if we can handle it."

"It’s not about little green men, it’s not about dadgum flying saucers," Burchett said on Fox News. "It’s about what are we spending tens of millions of your dollars on when some alphabet agency tells me they don’t exist and then again, another department within that department tells me they do exist."

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), chair of the House Oversight Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, said she is working with Hegseth to obtain classified UAP footage and expressed confidence in cooperation for release.

Luna requested 46 videos of UAP formations taken over Iran, the Persian Gulf, the East China Sea and near U.S. domestic airports in a March 31 letter to the Pentagon.

What the Left Is Saying

Progressive Democrats have expressed caution about the potential release of classified materials, raising concerns about national security implications and questioning whether this represents genuine transparency or political theater.

Some progressive commentators have noted that the timing of the announcement—coming days after a Fox News segment featuring Rep. Tim Burchett urging disclosure—suggests political motivations rather than a substantive policy shift.

Democrats have also pointed to the complexity of declassifying materials that may involve sensitive military technology, with some arguing that revealing certain information could compromise U.S. national security interests.

Progressive policy advocates have emphasized the need for any disclosure to go through proper congressional oversight channels rather than executive branch direction alone.

What the Numbers Show

Rep. Luna requested 46 videos of unidentified aerial phenomena in her March 31 letter to the Pentagon, covering formations over Iran, the Persian Gulf, the East China Sea and U.S. domestic airports.

David Grusch, a former intelligence official, testified to Congress in 2023 that the U.S. operated a "multi-decade" program collecting alien spacecraft for reverse-engineering—a claim the government has denied.

The Pentagon failed to turn over the requested videos ahead of an April 14 deadline, prompting Rep. Luna to use subpoena authority.

Burchett has cited tens of millions of dollars in government spending on programs whose existence some agencies deny while others acknowledge.

The first UAP hearing with Grusch's testimony occurred in 2023, marking a significant increase in congressional scrutiny of the issue.

The Bottom Line

Trump's announcement signals continued executive branch interest in UFO disclosure, though the scope and timeline of releases remain unclear. The President said files would begin releasing "very soon," but the DOD has not yet confirmed specifics of what will be made public. Congresswoman Luna's subpoena authority and ongoing oversight efforts suggest legislative pressure will continue regardless of executive action. The distinction between extraterrestrial life and unexplained aerial phenomena—which may have mundane explanations—remains a key point of contention as disclosure debates continue.