White House Taps Harvard Astronomer Avi Loeb To Lead UAP Council
The White House appointed Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb in June 2026 to lead a new outside scientific advisory council on unidentified anomalous phenomena, a move tied to efforts to declassify UFO-related material.[1]
Loeb's team will report to a UAP Governance Board run by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which met for the first time in mid-June.[1] After an initial meeting last month the council requested more than 50 UAP-related videos, images and documents from the Pentagon.[1] Loeb is a polarizing figure because he has repeatedly argued that some puzzling objects merit consideration as possible extraterrestrial artifacts.[1]
In February 2026 President Donald Trump ordered the Defense Department and other agencies to identify and release files related to extraterrestrial life, UFOs and UAP. That directive produced rolling tranches of declassified Pentagon records, including releases on May 8 and June 12, 2026, and prompted the ODNI, the FBI and the Department of Defense to create the interagency UAP Governance Board, which convened in mid-June.
Loeb said on social media he has been tasked to assemble a team of scientists, including Garry Nolan and Michael Shermer, to analyze unclassified data under multidisciplinary methods and to recommend better sensors, AI tools and declassification steps.
The mainstream summary does not mention the extensive scale of the U.S. government's declassification efforts, which involve reviewing tens of millions of records across multiple agencies under the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE) as of June 2026. This context highlights the significant resources being allocated to UAP investigations, indicating a broader commitment than what the summary suggests. The summary also frames Loeb as merely a polarizing figure due to his views on extraterrestrial artifacts, but it omits the fact that his role is part of a larger trend where UAPs are increasingly viewed through the lens of national security, as outlined in the 2021 ODNI Preliminary Assessment that identified potential risks to flight safety and national security posed by unidentified phenomena. This suggests that the implications of Loeb's leadership extend beyond scientific inquiry into pressing security concerns, a nuance that adds depth to the narrative surrounding his appointment.
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📊 Relevant Data
The U.S. government is reviewing tens of millions of records spanning decades across dozens of agencies as part of declassification efforts under the PURSUE system, with tranches released on a rolling basis (e.g., May 8 and June 12, 2026).
Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE) — war.gov
📌 Key Facts
- In June 2026 the White House appointed Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb to head a new outside scientific advisory council on UAP.
- Loeb’s team reports to a UAP Governance Board run by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which met for the first time in June 2026.
- After an initial meeting last month, the council requested more than 50 UAP-related videos, images and documents from the Pentagon.
- The advisory structure follows President Trump’s directive earlier in 2026 to increase transparency and declassify more UFO-related material.
📰 Source Timeline (1)
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