Trump admin taps fearless Harvard scientist to lead new Pentagon-probing UFO Council

By OAN Staff Lillian Mann - 7/3/2026, 9:00 AM - 625 words

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Faulty reasoning signals

Confirmation Bias - 14.6% (91 hits)
Anchoring Bias - 4.2% (26 hits)
Availability Heuristic - 3.4% (21 hits)
Representativeness Heuristic - 5.1% (32 hits)
Hindsight Bias - 0%
Overconfidence Bias - 3.5% (22 hits)
Framing Effect - 13.4% (84 hits)
Loss Aversion - 0%
Status Quo Bias - 5.8% (36 hits)
Sunk Cost Effect - 0%
Optimism Bias - 7.5% (47 hits)
Pessimism Bias - 4.3% (27 hits)

Article text

Trump admin taps fearless Harvard scientist to lead new Pentagon-probing UFO Council

A Harvard astronomer known for challenging the scientific establishment has been chosen by the Trump administration to lead a team of handpicked scientists that will analyze potential national security risks posed by unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs).

Avi Loeb, a highly respected cosmologist who served as head of Harvard’s astronomy for nearly a decade, was appointed to helm the newly formed UAP Science Advisory Council.

The panel will investigate origins of unidentified orbs and other mysterious objects reported by military officials in recent years.

Established to evaluate national security risks, the council will report to a higher-level UAP Governance Board overseen by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The initiative is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to increase transparency and declassify information regarding the highly debated issue.

Also selected for the council is Timothy Gallaudet, an oceanographer and retired U.S.

Navy Rear Admiral who has previously advocated for disclosure regarding recovered craft, and Ben Lamm, a billionaire tech entrepreneur.

The establishment of the council comes amidst bipartisan congressional pressure on the White House for further disclosure, fueled by arguments from Republican lawmakers that elements of the federal government have historically suppressed evidence of extraterrestrial encounters.

Nonetheless, the Pentagon office tasked with investigating UAPs has asserted that no definitive evidence of alien life has been discovered.

Loeb says he approaches the matter from a practical perspective rather than buying into sweeping cover-up theories.

“My impression is the government is baffled by not being able to infer the nature of some of these objects,” he stated.

The Israeli-American researcher has long theorized that extraterrestrial technology could already be on Earth, first capturing widespread public attention in 2017.

At the time, he proposed that ‘Oumuamua — an interstellar cookie-shaped object passing through our solar system — showed signs of being an artificial alien artifact rather than a standard space rock.

He later established the Galileo Project at Harvard University to search for evidence of extraterrestrial life.

Then, in 2023, he spearheaded an expedition that retrieved metallic fragments from the Pacific Ocean, proposing that the debris could have originated from alien technology.

Predictably, Loeb’s willingness to think outside of the box has drawn pushback from the academic establishment.

Some institutional peers have criticized his fast-paced style and his willingness to share information directly with the public rather than waiting for slow-moving, traditional peer-review processes.

Arizona State University astrophysicist Steve Desch has often challenged Loeb’s theories, claiming Loeb’s role will hinder the project’s traditional outcomes.

“I don’t know what’s going to come of this, but we’re not going to get any closer to answering these questions with him in charge,” Desch said.

Loeb, however, has disregarded his critics’ comments, saying that they lack the imagination needed to explore new ideas, the Associated Press said.

The outlet further stated that Loeb has promised a grounded approach to his new position within the administration and will tackle issues from a national security perspective.

“It’s like a detective story,” Loeb said in an interview.

“It’s a lot of fun, as long as you don’t pay too much attention to the critics.”

Following their inaugural meeting last month, the committee immediately went to work, submitting a formal request to the Pentagon for more than 50 multimedia files and documents regarding documented UAP events.

While the proceedings of Loeb’s group remain confidential, he has committed to public briefings and the creation of a website to disclose their results.