WASHINGTON — Congress erupted in skepticism, curiosity and outright disbelief on Wednesday as President Donald Trump promised to release classified UFO files and the Pentagon blew past its April 14 deadline to respond to lawmakers’ demands for disclosure.
The reactions ranged from cautious optimism to flat-out distrust and mockery, with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) admitting he hadn’t heard Trump planned to open up the government’s UFO files.
Even so, Booker delivered a sharp verdict.
“I don’t trust him at all,” Booker told Raw Story. “And if you need an example of why I don’t trust him, look at the Epstein file promises.”
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), co-chair of the House UAP Caucus, who has insinuated in recent days he’s seen evidence of aliens, was equally blunt, but aimed his fire at the Pentagon rather than Trump.
“That’s par for the course, dude. They’re just gonna delay, delay, delay until they can get everything covered up,” Burchett told Raw Story.
He said any bombshell release will have to “come from the top.”
“I don’t trust them as far as I can throw that dadgum dome off the Capitol,” he said of the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, known as AARO. The agency is tasked with leading the U.S. government’s efforts to address Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAP.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) noted that some of his colleagues have been talking to the White House and feel “encouraged that we might see some sort of release coming out.”
“As you know, Representative Luna sent a letter to the Pentagon, and now the Pentagon says they lost the letter,” he said, cracking a joke that that “makes sense” given the Department of Defense is missing trillions of dollars in its audits.
“It’s time. I think it’s time. I think the president needs to release it,” he said, saying Americans know the U.S. government is withholding information from them on UAPs.
Moskowitz raised an alarming concern buried beneath the disclosure debate — noting that roughly 10 scientists connected to the Los Alamos nuclear program are unaccounted for or dead.
“I think the Pentagon needs to come clean,” Moskowitz told Raw Story, calling for Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) to hold a hearing on the disappearances.
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), who co-authored the UAP Disclosure Act with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), told Raw Story he “hadn’t heard a word” from the White House about the promised release and couldn’t confirm whether he’d seen 46 classified UAP videos that the caucus is pushing to make public.
“I’ve never counted,” he said, adding: “I suspect that the Air Force might very well have been using the UFO interest to hide a number of national security products that were being tested.”
When asked about disgraced former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) comments he’d been told of an alien hybrid breeding program, Rounds was dumbfounded.
“A what?!” he exclaimed with a laugh. “That’s a new one on me. I don’t think they’re part of Congress anymore. Maybe there’s a reason for that.”
House Intelligence ranking member Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) was characteristically dry, mocking claims that the U.S. could be hiding the existence of aliens.
“Discovered the aliens? Turns out they’re crypto bros, and we’ve got them in formaldehyde at Area, not 51, Area 52,” he quipped.
Himes expressed deep skepticism that the public will receive confirmation of alien existence anytime soon.
“I would love the public to see what I’ve seen,” he deadpanned.
Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) noted he still hasn’t gotten a straight answer about the mysterious drone incursions over New Jersey in 2024 — let alone classified UFO files.
“I personally have not gotten any satisfying response,” he said.
Kim told Raw Story he received conflicting explanations from the Biden administration, which told him the incursions were “isolated” before they grew much larger. Then Trump said the drones were “something real” — before his administration reversed course and said they weren’t. One briefing suggested a private company was responsible for some of the sightings, but Kim said he found even that explanation unsatisfying.
“I’ve never gotten a clear answer at all,” Kim said. “Which — we’re still pushing on it.”
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