The Murky World of UAP in Congress
In the halls of the U.S. Capitol, opinions on the reality of UAPs vary depending on whom you ask.
Matt Laslo of "Ask a Pol", Sentinel News’ partner in Washington, is the reporter who isn't afraid to ask questions about UFOs on the Hill. He investigated how politicians reacted to Trump’s claims of disclosure.
Sen. Gillibrand
On April the 8th, Laslo asked Senator Kirsten Gillibrand , long-standing member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), what she thought about President Donald Trump’s call for the federal government to make UFO files available to the public. She replied it was great. When asked if the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) would be involved, she said she didn’t know but tweeted the president to ask.
Her aide interjected that ‘it’s redundant,because we already passed it in the NDAA and that stuff has to be made public’.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 2024 Fiscal Year included the UAP Disclosure Act of 2023, which mandates the public release of federal records concerning "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena" (UAP) and "non-human intelligence (NHI)". It forces the creation of a centralized, public collection at the National Archives (NARA) with a presumption of disclosure, aimed at uncovering decades of government knowledge while addressing potential national security threats.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is amongst the most prominent contributors in congress to the disclosure and transparency push about UFOs, as long as it is under the authority of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). She was instrumental in its creation, is committed to making it a more efficient organisation and to keep the conversation in congress in order to reduce stigma in reporting and ensure UAP records are properly disclosed and made available to the public.
Following President Donald Trump’s announcement that the UAP files would be declassified, and the subsequent creation by the U.S. government of the ‘alien.gov’ and ‘aliens.gov’ websites, very few MPs have dared to speak out in public. So, when…
Rep. Ogles
On April 9th, Matt Laslo asked representative Andy Ogles :
‘Is the White House trolling us by registering Aliens.gov, or is it a genuine signal that UFO disclosure is coming?...
…It was a surprise to hear him reply that there has been so much chatter and that so many people have come forward that the administration, President Trump just wants to lay a baseline and be honest with it. He suggests that President Trump likes to break the mold and would like to be ‘the guy that revealed the truth’ because it’s historic’ and ‘that’s exactly who President Trump is’. He added : ‘There’s some pretty compelling stuff out there. Now, how much of it they release, we’ll see’. He didn’t say what the stuff ‘out there’ is…
There’s someone in congress who’s always happy to talk about UAP’s, though…
Rep. Burchett
On April 10th, Representative and UAP Caucus chair Tim Burchett didn’t wait to be asked a question and launched into a statement about ex-representative Matt Gaetz’ explosive revelations ‘being crazy’. He was referring to the declaration by Gaetz that he was briefed by a U.S.army whistleblower about a secret program of alien-human hybridisation allegedly using captured extraterrestrials and abducted humans from migrant or war-zone communities. The whistleblower allegedly revealed that there were between six and twelve such facilities in the U.S. Gaetz admitted that he did not verify the information but was later told by White House representatives that the disclosure was ‘anti-christian’. Burchett insisted that Gaetz did not say it was happening for sure, but merely that he was told it did.
The US society is very steeped in Judeo-Christianism, and the idea of hybridisation between humans and extra-terrestrials is enduring in the American mythos. In the Old Testament, the ‘Watchers’, gigantic and powerful beings said to be ‘the sons of God’ interbred with humans, creating the ‘nephilim’.
Matt Laslo moved on with his question:
‘The congressional UAP Caucus has been really outspoken lately on classified info. Is that because you all are banking on disclosure coming from President Donald Trump?’
The UAP Caucus is a focused group within the U.S. Congress dedicated to the study, disclosure and policy development surrounding Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena.
Burchett replied that they are all frustrated and when asked if he thought that disclosure is coming, he expressed doubts :
I really don’t think we’re going to get this information. The one shot we’ve got is somebody gets to the President before the other side does and says ‘release it’ and he pulls a classic Trump and does what he wants to do, regardless. Which I, in this case I would love that. Wouldn’t you?
Laslo then asked if the White House knew where to look, to which Burchett replied that he told President Trump where to find the information and that it’s like peeling onions, there’s always a layer underneath. He added that Trump was very receptive.
Laslo suggested that UFO files might be held by military contractors, and could be outside the reach of the government. Burchett acquiesced and added that it was done because it is ‘un-FOIA-able’ and he feels it will be ‘next to impossible unless Trump grants some sort of amnesty to come forward’.
‘FOIA’ stands for ‘Freedom of Information Act’. It is a 1967 US federal law allowing any person to request access to federal agency records, ensuring government transparency. There are exceptions such as national security or personal privacy.
Laslo mentioned that other UAP Caucus members want to replace AARO, while Burchett just wants to blow it up, and Burchett confirmed he wants to do away with it because he’s ‘tired of restructuring government’.
In another exchange with Matt Laslo, he opened up :
Matt Laslo: “What do you make of the Pentagon breezing through your guys’ April 14th deadline?”
Burchett: “See, that’s par for the course, dude. They’re just going to delay, delay, delay until they can get everything covered up.”
“I just don’t have much faith. It’s just got to come from the top. The president’s just got to say do it. Heck, in that 28 days right now for them to cover everything up, it’s got to happen right then.”
Laslo: “Well, now they see they’re working with AARO. What do you make of that?”
Burchett: “I don’t trust them as far as I can throw that dome off the Capitol.”
Whilst all these discussions are happening, some more worrying and pressing events are going on in the U.S. homeland, so…
Sen. Cassidy
On Friday 11th of April, Laslo asked Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), this question :
‘Do you have any idea what the mysterious craft were that reportedly surveilled Louisiana’s Barksdale Air Force Base?
Barksdale is one of the largest and most strategic airfields in the US, covering 22,000 acres and housing 15,000 personnel. It is home to the Air Force Global Strike Command and the 2nd Bomb Wing, which includes nuclear-armed B-52 bomber squadrons. Early March 2026, multiple waves of unauthorized drones were spotted over the base. They were thought so dangerous that they initiated a ‘shelter-in-place’ order, an official directive issued by authorities during an emergency, instructing residents to immediately seek safety within the building they already occupy, rather than evacuating the area. It is a short-term protective measure designed to create a barrier between people and an outside hazard.
Senator Cassidy did not know about this event (that happened in his own state of Louisiana) but expressed his concern about problems with drones in a more general way, such as drones delivering narcotics into a federal prison in his state. When asked by Laslo if he had an idea if the Pentagon knew what happened in Barksdale, he said he will try and find out. As Laslo mentioned that it had also happened in other air-force bases such as Langley and Arizona, Cassidy replied :
‘There’s enough stupid people out there that it could be totally benign – accepting that stupidity is sometimes not benign, but you have to fear the worst’.
He did not elaborate on what he meant… but true to his word, he has since followed up on the subject and explained on television that since the beginning of the Epic Fury operation, there have been more events of the kind happening over US military bases. There have been ‘five or so’ over Barksdale from the 9th to the 15th of March. One was a hobbyist and the others are unclear. Two of the drones have been recovered ‘or at least perhaps recovered’ (his body language seemed to indicate he was not told for sure). A drone was recovered but it is not known if it was related to the fly-over. He added that the incident has been treated as a police matter, and they are looking for fingerprints and other clues, but he suggests it could have been a test by someone to see what the Air Force react. He suggested that the Air Force knows it is more than just a police matter.
There is still division within Congress. Some lawmakers openly admit their ignorance, while others speculate that classified information may be released. Meanwhile, U.S. representatives are increasingly doubting the administration’s ability to share secrets with them.