But most aren’t yet criticizing him either.
President Trump might have leaked classified information to the Russian government, reported Monday, and for perhaps the first time in his scandal-soaked presidency, Republicans on Capitol Hill did not immediately rise to his defense. By late Monday night, no GOP leaders in the House or Senate had released statements supporting Trump after the disclosure, which was confirmed by multiple other media outlets. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had not commented at all. House Speaker Paul Ryan expressed hope, through a spokesperson, for a “full explanation” from the administration as to what had happened — a “whoa if true” sentiment that was echoed by other prominent lawmakers in the GOP. As Sen. John Thune, the chair of the Republican conference, told reporters, “I would be concerned anytime we’re discussing sensitive subjects with the Russians, yes.” Other Republicans were cautious — but notably not rushing to support Trump. “If that’s true, I would say it’s disturbing, ” Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) , who has been a critic of Trump’s relationship with Russia, said. “There are lots of risks. If they say it was classified, then it was public knowledge; then you hurt the national security of the United States. That’s why you classify it.” Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) , a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was on the same page as she left her health care working group. “I can tell you as a member of the Intelligence Committee, we had not been told that this had happened by this administration, ” she said. “It’s very serious, I want to find out what the facts are.” GOP leaders shared that “looking for answers” sentiment in the early reactions to the news. “We have no way to know what was said, but protecting our nation’s secrets is paramount, ” Doug Andres, a spokesperson for Speaker Ryan, said. “The speaker hopes for a full explanation of the facts from the administration.” Trump’s strongest initial defense appeared to come from Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee, who has been reluctant to investigate Trump. He told the Salt Lake Tribune’s Thomas Burr that “of course” he still trusts Trump with classified information, and added that the House Intelligence Committee should review the validity of the Post’s report. The fiercest critique came from Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “To compromise a source is something that you just don’t do, ” Corker told reporters. “That’s why we keep the information that we get from intelligence sources so close, is to prevent that from happening.” Unsurprisingly, Democrats were quicker to jump to outrage. The premise of Trump revealing classified information was jarring enough — especially given how strongly Trump and the Republican Party attacked Hillary Clinton for allegedly doing the same. Rep. Eliot L. Engel of New York, the Democratic ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs said he was “shocked, ” in a statement: Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the Democratic vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, had similarly chiding words. “If true, this is a slap in the face to the intel community, ” he tweeted. “Risking sources and methods is inexcusable, particularly with the Russians.” Like Republicans, Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called for a briefing on the report, expressing just how “dangerous” an idea it is. “If the news reports are true, President Trump has compromised a key source of intelligence collection against ISIS and jeopardized the security of the American People, ” Pelosi said in a statement. “Even if President Trump unwittingly blew a highly classified code-word source to the Russians, that would be dangerous enough. If the President outed a highly classified code-word source intentionally, that would be even more dangerous.” Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expect a briefing in the coming days. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he is waiting for Republicans to see this as a red flag to prioritize investigations into Trump’s reported ties with Russia. “I don’ t know when it will be enough for Republicans to understand that we need to get to the bottom of the connection between the president of the United States and the Russian government, ” he told reporters.
