The Trump administration plans to hold a classified briefing for senators today on recent U.S. airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear sites amid a partisan political debate over the true impact of the bombing raids on Tehran’s nuclear program.
The White House is expected to send four senior officials to brief senators: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, is not scheduled to take part in the briefing, according to the two sources and a senior administration official.
“Director Ratcliffe will represent the intelligence community tomorrow while Tulsi Gabbard continues her critical work at DNI,” the official said. “The media is turning this into something it’s not.”
Gabbard testified to Congress in March that U.S. intelligence agencies assessed that Iran had accrued a large stockpile of highly enriched uranium but had not made the decision to build a nuclear weapon.
When Trump was asked about her testimony to Congress, the president said she was “wrong” and said: “I don’t care what she said.”
Gabbard has fallen out of favor with Trump and has been increasingly marginalized, NBC News previously reported. Her allies insist that while there is some White House tension, some of the public blowback is overstated.
The intelligence briefings for Congress were originally scheduled for Tuesday but were postponed to today for the Senate and tomorrow for the House.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said yesterday that the administration has been too slow to brief Congress on America’s first direct attack on Iranian territory. Schumer also called on the White House to reverse a decision to reportedly restrict intelligence sharing with members of Congress after an initial intelligence assessment about the airstrikes was leaked to news outlets. Axios reported that the administration planned the move.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said the administration had a legal obligation to keep lawmakers informed on vital national security matters.
“The leak of classified information is unacceptable and should be fully investigated and those responsible held accountable,” Himes said. “It’s also unacceptable for the administration to use unsubstantiated speculation about the source of a leak to justify cutting off Congress from classified intelligence reporting, particularly when over a million people within the executive branch have clearance to access classified top-secret reporting.”
“The law requires the congressional intelligence committees to be kept fully and currently informed, and I expect the intelligence community to comply with the law,” Himes added.
