All 100 senators will attend a rare briefing at the White House on North Korea
President Trump has summoned all 100 senators to the White House on Wednesday for a rare briefing on the topic of North Korea, Reuters reports. The meeting will be led by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford.
Experts are increasingly worried by the speed of North Korea's technological advancements, with intelligence indicating the nation is able to produce a nuclear bomb every six or seven weeks, The New York Times reports. As soon as 2020, many experts believe North Korea will be able to make an intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach Seattle or Los Angeles, and one day, New York.
President Trump personally suggested the meeting take place in the White House, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell accepted, puzzling some senators since, of course, they have their own building they are able to meet in. Some wondered to The Washington Post if the administration intends to use the moment as a photo-op to bolster Trump's 100-day image. "These briefings are always, always, always done in the SCIF up here," a Senate aide told The Washington Post. "Does it mean classified information is going to be shared in an unsecured setting? Or that we're not hearing about classified material?"
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Others expressed relief they are hearing from the administration at all. "I hope that we hear their policy as to what their objectives are, and how we can accomplish that hopefully without dropping bomb," said Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.).
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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