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Pete Hegseth

Secretary of War whose department launched the PURSUE UAP file releases in May 2026. Says the Pentagon is 'in lockstep' with Trump on transparency.

Current role: Secretary of War (sworn in 25 January 2025 as Secretary of Defense, department renamed 5 September 2025), whose department runs the PURSUE UAP file releases at war.gov/ufo. In post as of 2026-10-10.

Former roles:

  • Fox News host and author (2014–2024)
  • Infantry officer, U.S. Army National Guard, with deployments to Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan

Background

Former Army National Guard infantry officer and Fox News host, sworn in on 25 January 2025 as the 29th Secretary of Defense. The department was renamed the Department of War on 5 September 2025 and his title changed with it (official biography, PDF). His relevance to the disclosure process runs through his department: AARO reports to him, and on 19 February 2026 President Trump posted that he was directing the Secretary of War and other agencies to begin identifying and releasing government files on UAP. Hegseth's department answered with PURSUE (Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters), six file releases between May and September 2026, and a September 2026 legal waiver for personnel bringing UAP information to the PURSUE team. His own statements on the subject have been short, mostly in press releases, and frame the releases as the president's initiative.

On the record

  • 2026-06-12 – Department of War press release, PURSUE release 3 (72 files) – statement repeated the "lockstep" language from May and added: "This release of declassified documents demonstrates the Trump Administration's earnest commitment to unprecedented transparency." CBS News · Newsweek
  • 2026-05-08 – Department of War press release, PURSUE launch at war.gov/ufo (around 160 files) – "The Department of War is in lockstep with President Trump to bring unprecedented transparency regarding our government's understanding of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena." and "These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation — and it's time the American people see it for themselves." war.gov/ufo · The Debrief
  • 2026-02-23 – Sierra Space, Louisville, Colorado, answering Kristin Fisher (Endless Void Studios) on Trump's 19 February post – "We've got our people working on it right now." "I don't want to oversell how much time it will take, right?" "We're going to be in full compliance with that executive order, [and we're] eager to provide that for the president." No executive order had been published at that point. The same week Pentagon spokesperson Sue Gough said AARO "has been examining over 2,000 UAP cases." DefenseScoop · The Debrief
  • 2025-05-20 – asked by a reporter about non-human intelligence and Area 51 – sidestepped with a joke: "If I told you that, well I'd have to kill you". Clip

Responses and criticism

  • 2026-05-13 – Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies, on PURSUE release 1 – found it "falls short of scientific transparency": metadata redacted, a 1974–2015 gap in the records, and roughly 70% of the FBI files already public. SCU
  • 2026-04-14 – Rep. Anna Paulina Luna's 14 April deadline for 46 AARO videos passed without delivery. Luna said the Pentagon had not responded "until we reached out". Department of War spokesperson Susan Gough: "As with all congressional correspondence, the Department of War will respond directly to the author of the letter." Liberation Times · Newsweek
  • 2026-03-31 – Rep. Luna, chair of the Oversight Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, wrote to Hegseth listing UAP videos held by AARO and requesting them by 14 April: "The Task Force has found responses from AARO, when questioned about UAP sightings and provided data, less than adequate." At least two of the listed videos (Lake Huron, Iran formation) later appeared in PURSUE release 2. No written reply from Hegseth has been published. Letter (PDF) · Oversight release

Timeline of involvement

  • 2025-01-25 – sworn in as Secretary of Defense
  • 2025-05-20 – first recorded UAP question, answered with a joke
  • 2025-06-18 – questioned by Sen. Gillibrand at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on aerial incursions over military and nuclear installations (clip)
  • 2025-09-05 – department renamed the Department of War
  • 2026-02-19 – Trump posts that he is directing the Secretary of War to begin releasing UAP files (White House on X)
  • 2026-02-23 – "full compliance" remarks in Colorado
  • 2026-03-31 – Luna's letter requesting 46 AARO videos
  • 2026-05-08 – PURSUE launched at war.gov/ufo
  • 2026-05-22, 06-12 – PURSUE releases 2 and 3, with Hegseth statements
  • 2026-09-14 – Department of War issues a legal waiver covering UAP disclosures by current and former personnel to the PURSUE team (war.gov release · DefenseScoop)

Part of the Key People in Disclosure series. Verified 2026-10-10. Spotted an error? Reach out.