--- title: "Congress Receiving Mysterious Classified Briefing About UFOs" description: "Some members of Congress are going to get a briefing on UFOs soon — though of course, the public won't be privy to anything they learn." date: "2024-01-03" modified: "2024-01-03" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/congress-classified-ufo-briefing" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "congress" - "the digest" - "uaps" - "ufos" --- # Congress Receiving Mysterious Classified Briefing About UFOs ![Some members of Congress are going to get a briefing on UFOs soon — though of course, the public won't be privy to anything they learn.]() *\Image: Drew Angerer via Getty / Futurism\* ## Housekeeping The House Oversight Committee is going to get a briefing on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) soon — though, of course, the public won't be privy to anything they learn. As [*Axios* reports](), the members-only briefing will be held by the intelligence community's inspector general. Though that outlet did not give an exact date for the hearing, a similar notice [obtained by *The Messenger*]() suggests it'll be held next Tuesday. This upcoming, closed-door hearing seems to be a response to a [bipartisan effort]() to get the feds to open up more about what the government knows about "unidentified flying objects" or UFOs, which has included both the [establishment of new offices]() to track and [report on these sightings]() and claims of [ongoing government coverups](). ## Whistleblower Blues Though one could trace this entire process back to the Obama administration, when a series of [quiet leaks]() from the intelligence and military communities began confirming suspicions that the government has more information about UAPs than it lets on, this current iteration seems to have been spurred on by a more recent whistleblower. Last summer, former Air Force pilot and intelligence community member David Grusch made some incredible allegations, [first to journalists]() and later in a [public hearing]() before the House Oversight Committee, including that the US government has [reverse-engineered alien crafts]() — some, per his claims, with dead, [non-human "pilots" inside]() of them. Unsurprisingly, a [lot]() of [experts]() — as well as [space doomer]() [William Shatner]() — called bull on Grusch's evidence-free claims. But all the same, they did raise enough eyebrows for Congressional truth-seekers to call on the intelligence community to provide more information about so-called "[UAP retrieval programs]()." As with everything in government, it took some time to get a response from the Office of Inspector General of the Intelligence Community — which, if we're being honest here, sounds a lot like a made-up "King of Spies"-style agency — and there's little doubt that whatever the House Oversight Committee learns will remain classified. Nevertheless, it is a pretty big deal that the slow drip of government UFO intel has gone from [blink-and-you'll-miss-it reporting]() during the tumult of the Trump years to being the subject of hearings both private and public before Congress. **More on UAPs:** [*Congress Passes Legislation Demanding US Government Release UFO Archives*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()