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McConnell Seeks ‘a Little Less Drama’ From the White House Republicans Demand More Detail on Trump’s Meeting With Russians
(35 minutes later)
WASHINGTON — The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, who has been largely silent on President’s Trump’s increasing troubles concerning Russia, carefully pleaded with the administration to stop impeding the Republican agenda Tuesday. WASHINGTON — Top lawmakers, including the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, demanded on Tuesday that the White House provide details concerning President Trump’s meeting last week with Russian officials during which he revealed sensitive intelligence information.
His call came as Democrats prepared to use their limited powers to pressure the White House to reveal more detail about the president’s meeting with Russian officials. The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, who has been largely silent on the president’s increasing troubles concerning Russia, carefully pleaded with the administration to stop impeding the Republican agenda. Even as he tried to change the conversation to health care, the focus remained firmly on the president and Russia.
“I think we could do with a little less drama from the White House on a lot of things so that we can focus on our agenda,” Mr. McConnell said in an interview on Bloomberg Television on Tuesday morning, reflecting an increasingly frustrated Republican majority over the near standstill of any policy agenda in the wake of Mr. Trump’s many contentious statements. As if to emphasize that point, when he took the Senate floor on Tuesday, Mr. McConnell again criticized the Affordable Care Act. “I think we could do with a little less drama from the White House on a lot of things so that we can focus on our agenda,” Mr. McConnell said in an interview on Bloomberg Television on Tuesday morning, reflecting an increasingly frustrated Republican majority over the White House mishaps.
The inscrutable Mr. McConnell did not go as far as Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, who on Tuesday suggested in a statement that the information discussed by Mr. Trump with the Russians might have endangered allies. Later, during a news conference on Capitol Hill, when asked if he was concerned about Mr. Trump’s competence in handling intelligence information, Mr. McConnell paused for several beats before responding, “No.”
“The disclosure of highly classified information has the potential to jeopardize sources and to discourage our allies from sharing future information vital to our security,” Ms. Collins said in her statement. Lawmakers in both parties were largely confounded by the latest controversy, one in a series of self-made crises that has hobbled their ability to move forward with any of Mr. Trump’s policy priorities.
“Although the president has the legal authority to disclose classified information, it would be very troubling if he did share such sensitive reporting with the Russians,” she added. “The Senate Intelligence Committee should be briefed on this important issue immediately.” “Once again, we are faced with inexplicable stories coming from the White House that are highly troubling,” said Representative Barbara Comstock, Republican of Virginia, who is up for re-election next year in a highly competitive swing district.
Her comments followed remarks made to reporters Monday night by Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who said that the White House was in “a downward spiral right now and they’ve got to figure out a way to come to grips with all that’s happening.” “We need to have immediate classified briefings on what occurred at this meeting so that Congress can at least know as much as Russian leaders and know the impact on our national security, our allies, and our men and women protecting our country,” she said in a statement.
A spokeswoman for Senator Richard M. Burr, Republican of North Carolina and the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in an email on Tuesday that the committee had requested “additional information on recent reports about alleged dissemination of intelligence information” from the White House. The often shifting narrative coming out of the White House has also made it nearly impossible for lawmakers to get a grasp of what happened and how to respond, or to weigh the potential damage to their party.
Over all, Republicans were tempered in their criticism of Mr. Trump, with many arguing that the president was acting within his authority to declassify information. “In order for me to judge the appropriateness or not, I have to have context,” Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, said. “If it is in fact true that this information was shared with the Russian ambassador, it seems to me it’d be O.K. to be shared with U.S. senators.”
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, also took the Senate floor Tuesday morning, demanding that the Intelligence Committee be given access to the transcripts between Mr. Trump and the Russians. Because Mr. McConnell tends to refrain from criticizing the White House, his words, while muted, were almost certainly heard by other Republicans as a rebuke.
“We rely on our intelligence from our allies to keep us safe,” Mr. Schumer said. “If our allies abroad can’t trust us to keep sensitive information close to the vest, they may no longer share it with us.” Yet Mr. McConnell did not go as far on Tuesday as Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who suggested in a statement that the information discussed by Mr. Trump with the Russians might have endangered allies. “The disclosure of highly classified information has the potential to jeopardize sources and to discourage our allies from sharing future information vital to our security,” Ms. Collins.
“Given the gravity of the matter, we need to be able to quickly assess whether or not this report is true and what exactly was said,” Mr. Schumer said, calling on the White House to “make the transcript of the meeting available to congressional intelligence committees as soon as possible.” Senator Richard M. Burr of North Carolina, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, has requested that the White House provide information to the committee on the incident and had yet to hear a reply on Tuesday.
Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called reports of Mr. Trump discussing highly classified information with Russian officials “deeply disturbing.” Democrats, whose powers are limited — they have some subpoena powers if they are able to attract the support of at least one Republican on the Intelligence Committee — spent a great deal of Tuesday strongly criticizing Mr. Trump.
“The administration and intelligence community must immediately and fully brief the House Intelligence Committee on what, if anything, was shared with Russian officials, and whether it could impact either our sensitive sources and methods, or our intelligence-sharing relationships,” he said in a statement. “We rely on our intelligence from our allies to keep us safe,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, who took the Senate floor Tuesday morning to demand that the Intelligence Committee be given access to the transcripts of the meeting between Mr. Trump and the Russians. “If our allies abroad can’t trust us to keep sensitive information close to the vest, they may no longer share it with us.”
Mike Pompeo, director of the C.I.A., is expected to brief members of the House committee Tuesday evening. Emily Hytha, a spokeswoman for Representative K. Michael Conaway of Texas, the Republican who is heading the investigation on the committee, said the meeting had been scheduled “several weeks ago.” Over all, Republicans were tempered in their criticism of Mr. Trump, with many arguing that the president was acting within his authority to declassify information. But many expressed privately — and some publicly — that they would like the White House to function with far greater discipline.
Other Republicans seemed to give the White House the benefit of the doubt as they called for more information. “I suspect the administration will brief the Congress more fully on exactly what transpired,” Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas and a former Army captain, said on Tuesday during an interview on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show. “But I have much greater confidence in the word of H. R. McMaster on the record, in front of cameras, than I do anonymous sources in the media.” “There’s some alignments that need to take place over there, and I think they’re fully aware of that,” said Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee and the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. “Just the decision-making processes and everybody being on the same page.”
Other Republicans seemed to give the White House the benefit of the doubt even as they called for more information.
“I suspect the administration will brief the Congress more fully on exactly what transpired,” Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas and a former Army captain, said on Tuesday in an interview on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show.
“But I have much greater confidence in the word of H. R. McMaster on the record, in front of cameras, than I do anonymous sources in the media,” Mr. Cotton said, referring to Mr. Trump’s national security adviser.
Mike Pompeo, the director of the C.I.A., was expected to brief members of the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday evening. Emily Hytha, a spokeswoman for Representative K. Michael Conaway of Texas, the Republican who is heading the House’s investigation into Russian meddling in last year’s presidential election, said the meeting had been scheduled “several weeks ago.”