House Democratic leadership and rank-and-file members have outlined varied approaches to investigating unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), commonly known as UFOs, as the party seeks to reclaim the House majority in the 2026 midterm elections. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) stated in July 2023 that he supports the public release of enlightening data to address societal conspiracy theories. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said on September 22, 2026, that final decisions regarding the structure of subcommittees and task forces dedicated to these investigations will be negotiated following the November election results.
The focus on UAPs in Congress has increased since 2022, when a Democratic-led House Intelligence subcommittee held the first hearing on the topic in more than 50 years. During that hearing, Pentagon officials encouraged pilots to report sightings, while Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) advocated for destigmatizing such reports. A group of bipartisan lawmakers has since formed the UAP Caucus, dedicated to the study and disclosure of UAP information, though its membership faces changes due to upcoming retirements and primary losses.
Recent advocacy has centered on transparency and the declassification of government records. Rep. Carson recently called for the immediate release of a historical UAP record report, alleging that the Trump administration has "slow walked" transparency efforts regarding military and intelligence investigations. Conversely, during 2023 negotiations for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) introduced competing amendments to mandate the declassification of UFO-related records, with members like Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) citing government "stonewalling" as a primary motivation for continued legislative interest.
The scale of the disclosure remains a point of contention between the legislative and executive branches. During the 2023 NDAA process, lawmakers sought to include the "strongest possible" disclosure requirements, though they encountered resistance from the Senate Armed Services and House Intelligence committees. The Pentagon has already released six tranches of files, yet the specific number of additional classified records remains unknown. If Democrats win the majority, the creation of a Select UFO Committee or the continuation of the "Secrets Task Force" (Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets) would determine the level of staffing and funding dedicated to reviewing these documents.
What happens next depends on the results of the November 2026 midterm elections. Rep. Robert Garcia indicated that decisions on the future of UAP-focused task forces will be made in consultation with Leader Jeffries once the majority is determined. If the UAP Caucus continues, it will need to fill vacancies left by departing members Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN). While the second Trump administration has created a new governance board to coordinate sighting investigations, the immediate priority for transparency advocates is the release of the historical UAP record report, the exact date for which has not been reported.