UFO fever appears to be gripping Washington after a series of extraordinary claims and revelations from lawmakers this week.

Claims of an illegal, hidden UFO crash retrieval program operating within the shadows were made public this month by Air Force and intelligence agency veteran David Grusch.    

Congressman and Marine veteran Mike Gallagher let loose his theories on the mystery this Tuesday, suggesting that UFOs might be time-traveling craft piloted by humans from the future, as in the 1984 film 'The Terminator.'

Florida Senator Marco Rubio also revealed he had been approached by several high ranking Government officials with top-level security clearances who said they had 'first-hand' knowledge of UFO programs.

Appearing on ESPN analyst Pat McAfee's sports talk show, Rep Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican, floated his hypothesis that the unexplained phenomena 'could actually be an ancient civilization that's just been hiding here and is suddenly showing itself.'

But Rep. Gallagher also brought the conversation back down to Earth, airing his concerns that the airborne mysteries might prove to be breakthrough aerospace technology mastered by a US foreign adversary. 

'I'm probably the most interested in is whether it's adversary technology, particularly from China,' said Gallagher, who is also the chair of the House Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.