Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called on President Trump to declassify government records on unidentified flying objects (UFOs).
“Now let’s move on to the UFO files,” Senator Schumer wrote on X, re-sharing the White House’s announcement that President Donald Trump had requested the declassification of files related to the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy, his brother, former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
Mr. Schumer and Senator Mike Rounds previously introduced a bill to Congress requiring the declassification of government records related to unidentified flying objects (UFOs), also known as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), unless officials can provide a reason why they should be kept secret.
However, the requirements for public disclosure of information related to UAPs or UFOs were later removed from the annual defense authorization bill. Senator Schumer is taking over from the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in demanding more transparency in government records on UFOs.
US lawmakers have become increasingly concerned about UFOs after a series of unusual drone sightings in the skies over several states last month. The Federal Aviation Administration subsequently banned drone flying in parts of New Jersey and New York.
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security also investigated the mysterious drone sightings. However, the US government at the time insisted that the drones were not considered a security threat.
The US Director of National Intelligence released a report in 2023 stating that he had received and examined more than 500 reports of UAPs, including many testimonies from US Navy and Air Force pilots.
Of these, nearly 200 have been solved, including balloons, drones, birds, weather events, and airborne plastic bags. However, others remain unexplained, and much information remains unclassified.
Pressure to declassify UFO files increased after President Trump signed an executive order on January 23 directing the director of national intelligence and the attorney general to present a plan to declassify files related to the assassination of President Kennedy within 15 days because he believed that “continuing to hide information is inconsistent with the public interest.”
In the order, Mr. Trump also gave officials 45 days to review records related to the assassinations of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Reverend King, then submit to the President a plan to “fully and comprehensively disclose these records.”
“A lot of people have been waiting for this for decades. Everything will be revealed,” Mr. Trump told reporters when signing the decree at the White House.
