As we reported separately, President Trump has addressed the situation with Iran publicly, but lawmakers also got a classified briefing yesterday. As expected, members of the House and Senate were briefed by Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and CIA Director Gina Haspel.
And while House Republican leaders are voicing strong support, there are cracks in the veneer. Among them, Republican Senators Mike Lee (of Utah) and Kentucky’s Rand Paul. Lee calls the meeting "the worst briefing" he's had on a military issue.
Paul called it “less than satisfying,” and says the administration’s suggestion that Congress’ 2002 Iraqi war authorization covered the Qassem Soleimani strike was "absurd" and an "insult."
Not surprisingly, a number of Democrats are saying they were “utterly unpersuaded” by what the Trump administration has had to say. As House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel puts it, “The basic theme of it was the administration essentially saying, 'Trust us'.”
Source: NBC News