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The Entire Senate Went on a Field Trip to the White House to Learn About North Korea

Definitely the easiest way to do this thing. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

The Trump administration hosted a briefing on the situation in North Korea, but instead of sending officials to Capitol Hill, it decided to shuttle all 100 lawmakers about two miles for a briefing at the White House, for what is starting to sound like a not-all-that-productive session. It began as a high-school field trip, with better coach-bus parking and more people in suits:

Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had requested the briefing, and Trump reportedly seized the opportunity to invite all the lawmakers over to his house because “he’s a gracious host,” according to ABC News. The senators actually went to the Eisenhower Executive Building — on White House grounds still — which has an auditorium big enough to accommodate the group. It was turned into a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility to allow officials to speak openly about classified information. The briefing was led by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, and Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats. President and gracious host Trump also planned to stop by, and he literally did only that:

National security adviser H.R. McMaster also reportedly attended. Officials released a brief readout soon after the meeting that didn’t give away too many details, but notably did not mention military action, saying, “The president’s approach aims to pressure North Korea into dismantling its nuclear, ballistic missile, and proliferation programs by tightening economic sanctions and pursuing diplomatic measures.”

Some senators gave a bit more candid recap of the briefing:

Senate Shuttled to White House for North Korea Briefing