FOREIGN POLICY/INTELLIGENCE/IRAN/STATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Republican Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, who chairs the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been briefed by the Trump administration about the escalating tensions with Iran. But Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel of New York, the chairman of the equally powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, had not as of Thursday [5-16-19] afternoon. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, a freshman Republican who chairs a subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee, was briefed on the Iran situation about a week ago. But Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — a veteran GOPer who sits on that same committee and chairs an appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the State Department — has not had his calls returned on the matter. As the Trump administration unevenly briefs some members — but not others — about a roiling situation that could lead the US into military conflict, some who are in the dark are left fuming.”
–Manu Raju, “Administration’s uneven handling of Iran intelligence leaves some in Congress fuming,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, May 16, 2019 9:50 pm