WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said he is directing the Pentagon and other federal agencies to identify and release government files related to “alien and extraterrestrial life,” unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and unidentified flying objects (UFOs). Trump announced the directive in a Feb. 19, 2026, post on his social media platform Truth Social, saying he was acting because of “tremendous interest” and instructing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other agency heads “to begin the process of identifying and releasing” any relevant records.
Trump also addressed the subject in comments to reporters aboard Air Force One, saying, “I don’t know if they’re real or not,” when asked about aliens. In the same exchange, he accused former President Barack Obama of disclosing “classified information” in recent remarks about aliens, and added that he “may get him out of trouble by declassifying.” Trump did not specify which files would be reviewed, what agencies beyond the Pentagon would participate, or what information could ultimately be made public.
The announcement followed Obama’s comments in a recent podcast interview with political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen. In that appearance, Obama said, “They’re real, but I haven’t seen them,” while adding that he had not seen evidence of alien contact during his presidency. Obama later issued a clarification on social media, saying that while the universe is vast and the odds of life elsewhere are good, he saw no evidence while in office that extraterrestrials “have made contact with us.”
Pentagon UAP reporting
The Pentagon has collected and analyzed reports of unusual objects in the sky for decades, using the term UAP to describe sightings that cannot be immediately identified. In 2022, the Defense Department established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, known as AARO, to centralize reporting and analysis across the military services and combatant commands. Congress has required regular reporting on UAP, including unclassified summaries intended for public release alongside classified briefings.
AARO’s most recent consolidated annual reporting, released in late 2024, described hundreds of new UAP reports submitted during a roughly 13-month period and said many cases were resolved with additional data as ordinary objects. The report cited examples such as balloons, birds, unmanned aircraft systems, satellites and aircraft as explanations in closed cases, while noting that a share of reports remained unresolved because of limited sensor data or other information gaps. The same reporting said AARO had found no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity or technology.
Files and prior reviews
In a separate historical review released in March 2024, AARO said U.S. government investigations dating back to 1945 did not find evidence that reported sightings represented extraterrestrial technology. That report summarized earlier defense efforts, including mid-20th-century programs such as Project Sign, Project Grudge and Project Blue Book, and said none confirmed an off-world origin for the cases they examined. The review also said AARO found no verifiable evidence that the U.S. government or private industry has had access to extraterrestrial technology.
In recent years, the Pentagon has released selected UAP-related materials, including official imagery and case summaries, as part of its reporting and transparency obligations. Trump’s directive adds a broad new instruction to identify and release additional government records tied to UAP, UFOs and alleged extraterrestrial life, without detailing a scope, timetable, or declassification standard. Previous Pentagon reporting has framed the issue primarily around air safety and national security, and has stated that none of its reviewed cases has produced evidence of extraterrestrial origin – By Content Syndication Services.