Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) launched a blistering attack against the Trump administration on Tuesday following the sudden postponement of a classified congressional briefing on President Donald Trump’s recent decision to launch airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites.
The high-level briefing, initially scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, was abruptly moved to Thursday — a delay Schumer called “outrageous, evasive, and derelict,” accusing the administration of avoiding congressional scrutiny over a military operation that could trigger broader conflict in the Middle East.
“They’re bobbing and weaving and ducking,” Schumer said during a Capitol press conference. “Senators deserve full transparency. There is a legal obligation for the administration to inform Congress about precisely what is happening.”
The classified strikes, carried out over the weekend, targeted key components of Iran’s nuclear program amid escalating tensions involving Iran, Israel, and now the United States. While the Trump administration has framed the strikes as necessary to deter Iranian nuclear ambitions, Schumer and others are questioning the broader strategy and the risks to American lives.
According to Schumer, the briefing was supposed to feature top national security leaders — including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine. Their absence on Tuesday, he said, left lawmakers in the dark.
“What are they afraid of? Why won’t they engage Congress in the critical details?” Schumer asked. “Congress has a right and responsibility to know the results of this strike, the extent of the destruction, and the administration’s plan going forward.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are now expected to attend Thursday’s rescheduled meeting. Schumer said he would welcome their input — but not as a substitute for the original session. “If they want to come up on Thursday in addition, not in replacement, of this [briefing], that’s OK,” he said.
The Democratic leader also revealed that his initial briefing on the matter was alarmingly vague. “They called me up and said, ‘We’re taking imminent action, we can’t tell you what country,’” he recounted. “I said, ‘Can you give me some details?’ They said, ‘No.’ That’s the extent of the briefing I’ve gotten.”
Schumer emphasized that Gen. Caine, in particular, “knows more about the military operation than almost anybody else in government,” and said senators want to hear directly from him about the operation’s execution, success metrics, and potential consequences.
As lawmakers await the delayed session, many are demanding to know not only the scope of Iran’s damaged nuclear stockpile but also what President Trump’s long-term plan is for containing Iranian aggression without provoking a full-scale war.
Meanwhile, a leak probe has been launched following premature media reports about the airstrikes — which Trump and Hegseth have dismissed as exaggerated.
