--- title: Hegseth Shares Update on Government Release of Alien Files description: "We’ve got our people working on it right now,” said the U.S. Defense Secretary. canonical: https://time.com/7380751/us-government-ufo-alien-files-release-hegseth-update/ author: Tiago Ventura article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-02-24T15:01:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-19T11:48:11.185Z article:section: Politics og:title: Hegseth Shares Update on Government Release of UFO Files og:description: "We’ve got our people working on it right now,” said the U.S. Defense Secretary. og:url: https://time.com/7380751/us-government-ufo-alien-files-release-hegseth-update/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltecb314816b75aa3e/69b04870785ca04983cd5ccb/Hegseth.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: SECRETARY OF WAR PETE HEGSETH, COLORADO og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Hegseth Shares Update on Government Release of UFO Files twitter:description: "We’ve got our people working on it right now,” said the U.S. Defense Secretary. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltecb314816b75aa3e/69b04870785ca04983cd5ccb/Hegseth.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Hegseth Shares Update on Government Release of UFO Files Under Trump's Direction > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Tiago Ventura](https://time.com/author/tiago-ventura/)  ## Tiago Ventura Feb 24, 2026 3:01 PM UTC  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a visit to Sierra Space in Louisville, Colorado, on Feb. 23, 2026. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a visit to Sierra Space in Louisville, Colorado, on Feb. 23, 2026. AAron Ontiveroz/Denver Post—Getty Images  by [Tiago Ventura](https://time.com/author/tiago-ventura/)  ## Tiago Ventura Feb 24, 2026 3:01 PM UTC Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon is “working” on identifying and releasing government files related to UFOs and extraterrestrial life following President Donald Trump’s directive. “We’ve got our people working on it right now,” Hegseth [said](https://x.com/cspan/status/2026095830382375145) Monday, when asked by a reporter if he was prepared to potentially declassify such information. “I don’t want to oversell how much time it will take, but we’re digging in.” He added that his team will be “in full compliance” with Trump’s instructions. During the visit to Sierra Space, a commercial aerospace company in Colorado, Hegseth admitted to previously not having the task “on his bingo card,” but said there would be more to come, telling reporters to “standby” for updates. When asked if he thinks aliens exist, Hegseth said: “We’ll see. I get to do the review and find out along with you!” The Colorado stop was part of Hegseth’s nationwide tour of defense industrial bases. TIME has reached out to the White House and the Department of Defense for comment. Trump announced on Feb. 19 that he is instructing federal agencies to begin releasing government files. “I will be directing the[ Secretary of War](https://time.com/7314840/department-of-defense-name-change-department-of-war-pete-hegseth-trump/), and other relevant departments and agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters,” he [said](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116100300268316472). Trump made reference to the “tremendous interest shown” over what information the U.S. government may have on extraterrestrial life. This interest spiked after former President Barack Obama, during a Feb. 14 [interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI-hgSE5QIw&t=2635s) with progressive podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen, said aliens are “real.” “They’re not being kept at 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. [Area 51](https://time.com/5627694/area-51-history/) is a highly classified U.S. Air Force facility in southern Nevada that has long been the focus of conspiracy theorists regarding alien life.  Trump speaks to the media aboard Air Force One on Feb. 19, 2026. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images The remarks prompted a wave of online speculation, leading Obama to [clarify](https://www.instagram.com/p/DUy9E%5FUD9RR/?hl=en) his comments the following day. “I was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round, but since it’s gotten attention let me clarify,” he said via social media. “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!” In the wake of Obama’s commentary, Trump [told reporters aboard Air Force One](https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/pres-trump-speaks-to-reporters-on-air-force-one/673715) that the former President is “not supposed to be” giving classified information. There’s no indication that Obama revealed any classified information during the podcast. Meanwhile, Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, said last week in an [interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiW6SibCtto&t=2085s) with the New York _Post_’s _Pod Force One_ that she had asked the President about the topic and claimed he had prepared remarks on extraterrestrial life that would be delivered at the “right time.” But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt [said](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkMpdNeG2sA&t=1631s) “a speech on aliens would be news to me,” when asked about the matter. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7380751/us-government-ufo-alien-files-release-hegseth-update/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7380751/us-government-ufo-alien-files-release-hegseth-update/"},"headline":"Hegseth Shares Update on Government Release of UFO Files Under Trump's Direction","datePublished":"2026-02-24T15:01:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-19T11:48:11.185Z","description":"\"We’ve got our people working on it right now,” said the U.S. Defense Secretary.","url":"https://time.com/7380751/us-government-ufo-alien-files-release-hegseth-update/","keywords":["Trump Administration","Donald Trump","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltecb314816b75aa3e/69b04870785ca04983cd5ccb/Hegseth.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tiago Ventura","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tiago-ventura/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltecb314816b75aa3e/69b04870785ca04983cd5ccb/Hegseth.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SECRETARY OF WAR PETE HEGSETH, COLORADO","caption":"SECRETARY OF WAR PETE HEGSETH, COLORADO","creditText":"AAron Ontiveroz/Denver Post—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/trump-administration/","name":"Trump Administration"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7380751/us-government-ufo-alien-files-release-hegseth-update/","name":"Hegseth Shares Update on Government Release of UFO Files Under Trump's Direction"}}]}] ```