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Government withholding information on UFOs from the public, GOP rep says

By Joseph Wulfsohn

Published April 16, 2026

Fox News
Rep. Tim Burchett: 'The government is not telling us everything' about UFOs Video

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn, expressed skepticism in a new interview that the federal government has been forthcoming on what it knows about UFOs.

"The truth is, is that the government is not telling us everything about what's going on," Burchett said on Wednesday's installment of the "Will Cain Country" podcast.

"I believe there is something else going on — it's not ours, it's not the Russians', it's not China's. If either one of them had it, they would own us, even more so than China does now," he continued. "So I think the only other option is that it is something maybe not of this world or of this world that's been here for a while, and we're just not looking in the right places. And I believe there's some people in the government that might have a clue about what it is."

JD VANCE SAYS HE'S 'OBSESSED' WITH UFOS, BELIEVES ALIENS ARE ACTUALLY 'DEMONS'

Tim Burchett speaks with reporters

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said "the government is not telling us everything" about UFOs during his appearance on the "Will Cain Country" podcast. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

Burchett, who serves on the House Oversight Committee, has been outspoken in his calls for federal agencies to disclose whatever knowledge they have on UAPs, or Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, the term officials now call Unidentified Flying Objects.

Burchett told Cain that he gets briefed on something every week.

"I was riding into baseball this morning, baseball practice... And I was catching the usual grief that I always do. And I said, 'Y'all should have been in the SCIF with me yesterday. Y'all need to start coming to some of those meetings and listening to what federal agencies are saying and what they're not saying. And look at some of the pictures and look at some of the videos, and then it will shut them up pretty quick," Burchett said.

Burchett also said it's something that needs to be addressed because it concerns where tax dollars go, saying it wasn't about "little green men or flying saucers."

BILL MAHER QUIPS THAT UFO SKEPTICS ARE NOW THE ONES WHO SOUND LIKE ‘CONSPIRACY THEORISTS’ ON ALIENS

UFO

There have been growing calls for the declassification of what the government knows about UAPs.  (Courtesy of Netflix)

In February, President Donald Trump said he would direct the release of government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life and unidentified aerial phenomena, saying there is "tremendous interest" in the issue following remarks by former President Barack Obama.

Obama appeared on Brian Tyler Cohen’s podcast in February and was asked point-blank whether aliens are real.

"They’re real, but I haven’t seen them," Obama said.

After his remarks drew attention, Obama issued a clarification.

"I was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round, but since it's gotten attention, let me clarify," Obama said on Instagram. "Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there's life out there. But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we've been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!"

TRUMP DIRECTS RELEASE OF GOVERNMENT ALIEN AND UFO FILES TO MULTIPLE FEDERAL AGENGIES NATIONWIDE

Congressman Burchett: UFO Files Would Keep You Up at Night | Will Cain Country Video

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Trump said he would instruct War Secretary Pete Hegseth and other relevant departments and agencies to begin identifying and declassifying records tied to unidentified aerial phenomena, UFOs and potential extraterrestrial life, framing the move as a response to heightened public curiosity.

Trump also said Obama gave "classified information" and he wasn't supposed to be doing that.  

"I don’t know if they’re real or not," Trump told Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy. "I can tell you, he gave classified information. He’s not supposed to be doing that — he made a big mistake. He took it out of classified information."

Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to joseph.wulfsohn@fox.com and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.

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