A Republican lawmaker says he has personally viewed UFO images and video he can’t account for — and he wants the US government to be more transparent about what it knows.
Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee made the remarks this week, shortly after Donald Trump suggested classified UFO-related material could soon be released.
Burchett has long been among the loudest voices in Congress pressing for more openness around unidentified aerial phenomena, arguing that the public deserves clearer answers about what is being reported by pilots and tracked by sensors.
In a recent appearance on NewsNation with host Elizabeth Vargas, Burchett claimed the material he’s seen shows objects performing in ways beyond the limits of any aircraft he’s aware of.
“These people are seeing something out there,”
“I’ve seen pictures and video of things that defy any reason we have.”
While some suggest such sightings could be advanced technology from rivals like China or Russia, Burchett said that explanation doesn’t add up to him, given what the reported performance would imply.
“If it’s the Chinese, they would own us.
“If it’s the Russians, they wouldn’t be bogged down in Ukraine. If it was ours, we would never risk our military fighting men and women in half-a-billion dollar aircraft out with these things.”
Burchett also described reports of objects that can remain stationary for prolonged periods, rocket upward at extreme speed, and execute manoeuvres that would exceed the capabilities of currently known aircraft.
He further referenced a discussion he said he had with a US admiral, involving sonar tracking of an underwater object allegedly close to the size of a football field moving at more than 200 miles per hour.
“We don’t have anything of that capability or size,”
His comments arrived days after Trump said the first wave of classified UFO files would be coming soon, following a February directive to the Department of Defense to release documents tied to UFOs, alien life, and unidentified aerial phenomena.
The broader topic has surfaced repeatedly in recent headlines, including remarks from former President Barack Obama, who addressed the idea of extraterrestrials while emphasizing he wasn’t claiming the government was hiding proof.
He said: “They are real – but I haven’t seen them,” speaking to Brian Tyler Cohen on his podcast.
“They’re not being kept in Area 51. There’s no underground facility unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States,” he added.
Trump, however, suggested Obama may have revealed more than he intended.
For Burchett, the ask remains straightforward: disclose what the government has and allow the public to assess it.
“Just put it out there and let people decide,”
“I think they can handle it. I just don’t think our government and their arrogance – it’s power, it’s about control, it’s everything that runs Washington D.C.”
If the promised releases happen as indicated, Burchett and others say the public may soon have more information to judge for themselves.