Tim Burchett is a Republican U.S. Representative from Tennessee’s 2nd congressional district and the most prominent congressional champion of UAP transparency in the House of Representatives. A consistent voice for government accountability on UAP since 2021, Burchett organized and led the landmark July 26, 2023 hearing before the House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security — the most-watched congressional UAP event in history — and has repeatedly called for full declassification of government UAP records.
Background & Political Career
Timothy Lee Burchett was born on August 25, 1964, in Knoxville, Tennessee. He served in the Tennessee state legislature for more than two decades before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018, succeeding retiring Representative Jimmy Duncan in Tennessee’s 2nd district. He was re-elected in 2020, 2022, and 2024.
Burchett serves on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, which gave him a direct platform to pursue UAP investigations. He is known for his blunt, plain-spoken style and willingness to challenge institutional orthodoxy — characteristics that made him an effective, if unconventional, advocate for UAP transparency in an environment where most legislators preferred to avoid the subject entirely.
UAP Advocacy
Burchett became one of the most outspoken UAP advocates in Congress beginning around 2021, following the release of the Navy UAP videos and the June 2021 ODNI Preliminary Assessment. He has publicly stated his belief that the U.S. government has been covering up information about UAP for decades and that non-human intelligence may be involved — statements that, coming from a sitting congressman with committee access, carried significant weight in the UAP disclosure community.
He helped establish and energize the Congressional UAP Caucus and worked closely with Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) to build the bipartisan coalition necessary for sustained legislative action on UAP.
The July 26, 2023 Hearing
Burchett was the primary organizer of the July 26, 2023 hearing before the House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs — the first congressional hearing on UAP to feature witnesses testifying under oath about direct experience with UAP programs and encounters. The three witnesses were:
- David Grusch — former Air Force intelligence officer and NRO representative, who alleged under oath that classified programs exist involving the retrieval of non-human craft
- Ryan Graves — former Navy F/A-18 pilot who documented systematic UAP encounters during active service and the institutional suppression of reporting
- David Fravor — former Navy commander who described the 2004 Tic Tac encounter in detail
Burchett’s opening statement framed the hearing in terms of government accountability rather than extraterrestrial speculation: the question was not necessarily what UAP are, but whether elected representatives and the American public have a right to know what the government knows about them. That framing gave the hearing bipartisan appeal and insulated it from easy dismissal.
Legislative Activity
Beyond organizing hearings, Burchett has introduced and co-sponsored multiple pieces of UAP-related legislation, including provisions strengthening whistleblower protections for government employees who report UAP-related information and requirements for the executive branch to provide classified UAP briefings to appropriate congressional overseers. He has consistently pushed back against what he describes as the executive branch’s resistance to providing Congress with meaningful access to UAP program information.
He has also been publicly critical of AARO‘s independence, questioning whether the office can objectively investigate programs that exist within the same department that oversees it, and calling for an independent inspector general investigation into UAP program access restrictions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Tim Burchett?
Tim Burchett is a Republican U.S. Representative from Tennessee’s 2nd congressional district and the leading House champion of UAP transparency. He organized the landmark July 26, 2023 congressional UAP hearing and has been the most vocal congressional advocate for full government declassification of UAP records.
What did Tim Burchett do at the July 2023 UAP hearing?
Burchett was the primary organizer of the July 26, 2023 hearing before the House Oversight Subcommittee, which featured sworn testimony from David Grusch, Ryan Graves, and David Fravor. He chaired portions of the hearing and framed UAP oversight as a government accountability issue, giving it bipartisan appeal.
Does Tim Burchett believe UAP are extraterrestrial?
Burchett has publicly stated his belief that the government is withholding information about UAP and that non-human intelligence may be involved. However, his primary legislative focus has been on government transparency and congressional access rather than on advocating for any particular conclusion about UAP origins.
What committee does Tim Burchett serve on?
Burchett serves on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, which has jurisdiction over government transparency and accountability — giving him a direct institutional platform to pursue UAP oversight investigations.