GOP senators issue Rubio warning about lapse in 'critical' intelligence collection: report

A pair of GOP senators is warning the Trump administration about a "significant" gap in "critical" foreign intelligence collection.

"We write with regret to ask that you plan for a potential significant gap in foreign intelligence collection," Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Cotton and Grassley blamed the "lapse" on Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Senate minority leader, for walking away from an extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, according to the letter.

Andrew Desiderio, the senior congressional reporter for Punchbowl News, noted in a post on X that Senate Democrats blocked the FISA extension in response to the appointment of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.

Cotton, the chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, and Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, added that "given the gravity of the situation, our two committees remain ready to assist."

The deadline for a FISA extension is next Friday, Desiderio noted.