The task force identity is not uncertain: House Oversight and Government Reform lists an official subcommittee titled Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets with assigned Republican and Democratic members and dedicated leadership.1
On August 31, 2025, committee materials describe the task force as newly established that year and note that, as part of its mandate, it had already requested DOJ records on Jeffrey Epstein.2 The task force background is repeatedly linked to Oversight Chair James Comer and Chairwoman Anna Paulina Luna as the initiating actors in 2025.3
A February 2025 task-force letter packet provides the clearest statement of the mandate before the Aug–Feb window: the task force was authorized under House Rule 14 and explicitly named investigation topics including the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., unidentified anomalous phenomena and potential extraterrestrial questions, and additional subjects at the chairman’s discretion.4
During September 2025, the task force shifted into hearing operations centered on unidentified anomalous phenomena. The September 3, 2025 announcement framed oversight goals as disclosure of UAP-related materials, evaluation of DoD and intelligence-community handling, and review of AARO performance.5 The September 9 hearing took place and was followed by a wrap-up emphasizing persistent information gaps, whistleblower protection for UAP reporters, and calls to standardize federal reporting processes.6
On September 15, 2025, oversight activity expanded into CCP-linked influence funding, with task force leadership joining the committee in asking Treasury for sanctions, seizure, and civil remedy assessment tied to Neville Roy Singham-linked entities and requesting ongoing briefings on enforcement capacity.7
By January 2026, the task force emphasis had evolved toward historical-declassification work. The January 20 hearing announcement and January 22 opening statement set a mandate around sealed and redacted MLK assassination files and compliance with Presidential declassification direction.89 The January 23 wrap-up records that the hearing treated transparency around records, surveillance-state comparisons, and public trust as central outputs of the task force investigation.10