Biden administration to brief congressional staff on Ukraine crisis
By Betsy Klein, CNN
The Biden administration will hold two classified bipartisan briefings Tuesday for House and Senate leadership and committee staff on the crisis with Russia and Ukraine, a White House official told CNN.
The briefings come as up to 8,500 US troops have been put on heightened alert for a possible deployment to Eastern Europe as Russian troops mass on Ukraine’s border. They were first reported by Punchbowl News.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have requested all-member briefings in each of their chambers. Schumer has requested a classified briefing for all 100 senators on the situation for next week, a source familiar said.
The White House official said they are working to hold all-member briefings for the House and Senate “in the coming days.”
Tuesday’s classified briefings build on “dozens of engagements” the administration has held on the matter in recent days, including conversations between nearly 20 members, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Deputy Secretary Wendy Sherman. Additional engagements are planned this week, the official added.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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