The Pentagon is forming a UFO task force a week after President Donald Trump told “Fox Business” host and known conspiracy theorist Lou Dobbs that he was committed to investigating close encounters, according to reports.
The task force is expected to be led by Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist and will be announced soon, CNN reported.
The Pentagon, however, would not comment on the report.
Trump appeared on Dobbs’ program Aug. 4 when, after a conversation about “The Deep State,” the host asked the president whether he was committed to investigating unidentified flying objects.
"Actually a lot of my friends are very concerned about what the federal government is doing when it comes to UFOs," Dobbs said. "So if I could just ask you, are we going to commit, are you going to commit more resources to exploring UFOs and open the documents to the public?"
Trump was immediately receptive to the idea.
“Well, I think probably in this country, you are the UFO expert, so I’m going to be totally guided by the great Lou Dobbs, and I will tell you that I will do whatever you ask me to do, including total transparency,” the president said.
In recent months, voices in Washington and elsewhere have called on U.S. intelligence services to look deeper into UFOs.
In April, former Democratic Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada praised the Pentagon for releasing aerial footage that shed light on “unidentified aerial phenomena” observed by the U.S. Navy.
“I’m glad the Pentagon is finally releasing this footage, but it only scratches the surface of research and materials available,” Reid tweeted. “The U.S. needs to take a serious, scientific look at this and any potential national security implications. The American people deserve to be informed.”
Then in June, the Senate Intelligence Committee urged the Pentagon to investigate recent videos of U.S. aircraft encountering mysterious objects in the sky.
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, the committee chairman, told WFOR-TV last month that it was a good idea, suggesting it could protect U.S. military exercises.
“Frankly, if it’s something from outside this planet, that might actually be better than the fact that we’ve seen some sort of technological leap on behalf of the Chinese or the Russians or some other adversary,” Rubio said.
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