President Donald Trump announced Friday on Truth Social he is ordering his administration to “declassify and release” all U.S. government records regarding trailblazing aviator Amelia Earhart, who mysteriously disappeared during a flight over the Pacific Ocean in 1937.
In 1932, Earhart became the first woman — and the second person in history after Charles Lindbergh — to fly solo and non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean. Just five years later, at the age of 39, she vanished without a trace during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe, raising a range of possible explanations as well as conspiracy theories.
“I am ordering my Administration to declassify and release all Government Records related to Amelia Earhart, her final trip, and everything else about her,” the president wrote in his post.
Earhart “was an Aviation Pioneer, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and achieved many other Aviation ‘firsts,’” Trump added. “She disappeared in the South Pacific while trying to become the first woman to fly around the World. Amelia made it almost three quarters around the World before she suddenly, and without notice, vanished, never to be seen again. Her disappearance, almost 90 years ago, has captivated millions.”
Republican Northern Mariana Islands Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds, a non-voting member of the House of Representatives, petitioned Trump to declassify the Earhart files in a July 9 letter, Politico reported. The Northern Mariana Islands are a U.S. territory in the North Pacific between the Philippines and Hawaii.
“Should such records exist, their release would contribute meaningfully to our understanding of one of America’s most revered aviators and could finally shed light on the final chapter of her remarkable life. I believe the story of Amelia Earhart, and the Pacific’s possible role in it, deserves the same level of openness and commitment to the truth that you have championed in other areas,” King-Hinds wrote to Trump. “If there is an opportunity to locate, review, and release any remaining government files related to her disappearance, it would be a powerful step toward honoring her legacy and bringing greater historical resolution to the American people.”
Mindi Love Pendergraft, executive director of the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum, told The New York Times in an email Trump’s announcement “is a welcome action for Earhart historians and enthusiasts” if the records are able to reveal more information on what really happened to the famed aviator. The museum named in honor of Earhart is located in her birthplace of Atchison, Kansas.
Trump’s move to declassify records related to the aviator pioneer is the latest in a series during his second presidential term to attempt to provide answers to decades-old mysteries surrounding American icons. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard in July 2025 released over 230,000 pages of documents related to the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Gabbard in April announced the declassification of files related to the assassination of Democratic New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, which also occurred in 1968. Kennedy is notably the father of Trump Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr..
The White House did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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