Washington, DC – Representatives Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Jim Himes, Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and Adam Smith, Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, today released the following statement regarding the Trump administration’s decision to cancel a classified Member briefing on recent military action in the Middle East. 

“As the administration has pursued a chaotic and unauthorized policy in the Middle East, it has failed to perform the basic function of informing the Congress—the Article I branch charged with the Constitutional power to authorize force—by canceling a classified briefing on the U.S. military strikes in Iran that was several days overdue. This is unacceptable. We can only speculate as to why the administration canceled the briefing, but it certainly appears as though they’re afraid to answer questions about their policies and the president’s unverified claims that the strikes obliterated Iran’s nuclear program. The administration must be forthcoming in terms of what was accomplished by the unauthorized strikes and how much of Iran’s nuclear program has been impacted. These are the questions the White House does not want to answer because to do so honestly would likely not align with President Trump’s declarations of victory. 

“The administration must hold the classified briefing this week, in accordance with the obligations that the Executive branch has to keep the Legislative branch informed.”