House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are requesting that the Biden administration brief their respective chambers on escalating tensions in Ukraine next week, leadership sources confirmed on Monday.
The call for briefings comes as the administration weighs its options amid heightened threats that Russia could invade Ukraine, with President Biden considering sending as many as 8,500 US troops to Eastern Europe and the Baltics.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the White House has been in contact on how to address the matter, which has garnered bipartisan concerns.
“We have been in close consultation with members in leadership from the beginning. I am sure we are working to meet the request and needs of members,” she told reporters.
The State Department alerted officials in Ukraine that authorized non-emergency diplomatic employees in Ukraine and the families should evacuate from the country as Moscow has maintained a presence of 100,000 troops at its border, sparking worry the county plans to invade.
The Ukrainian government criticized the United States’ decision to vacate its diplomats.
The Kremlin has denied that it has plans to launch an incursion.
