What Did We Learn From Congress’ UFO Hearing?

Politicians and media voices across the spectrum reacted to Wednesday’s House hearing on UFOs.

Are We Alone? After one of the whistleblowers repeated claims of a secret government program that had obtained “nonhuman” biological material from a crashed UFO, the Pentagon denied knowledge of programs possessing “extraterrestrial materials.” Some speculated on explanations for UFO sightings; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) drew headlines by suggesting they were “angels, or fallen angels.” While House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) expressed skepticism, a small group of lawmakers asked him to form a select committee on UFOs.

Abducting Our Polarization: One lawmaker, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), called the hearing “by far the most bipartisan conversation and discussion that I’ve seen happen in the Congress.” The issue has also found bipartisan footing in the Senate; Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) are pushing a bill that would create a presumption of disclosure for records related to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). 

Perspectives: Commentators generally withheld belief following the hearing, since the whistleblowers did not have concrete evidence — that the public is allowed to see, at least. Some used the topic to get in a partisan jab; Fox News’ (Right bias) Greg Gutfeld joked that Democrats were “doing a far better job” of destroying “our cities” than “any green man ever could.” Washington Post (Lean Left bias) columnist Dana Milbank said some Republicans, including “the House’s leading conspiracy theorists,” indulged in “otherworldly accusations of a government coverup.”