Lawmakers across New England are calling reports of President Donald Trump sharing classified intelligence with Russians "troubling" and "disturbing."
Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, said that while Trump has the legal authority to declassify information, it would be very "troubling" if he did. She also called for the Senate Intelligence Committee to be immediately briefed.
"Jeopardizing the sources and methods that support our intelligence gathering apparatus, or those of an ally, are of grave concern," Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said in a series of tweets.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) also took to Twitter in the aftermath of the Washington Post's explosive report.
"Congress must investigate Trump's irresponsible action & take steps to ensure he does no addl [sic] damage to natl sec [sic] in his dealings w [sic] #Russia," he wrote.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, another independent who caucuses with Democrats, said in a series of tweets that Trump is "failing" at protecting the country.
"A week ago Trump fired Comey. Now this," he tweeted. "It's vitally important that Trump make public any recordings he has of talks in the Oval Office."
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Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) couldn't help but wonder on Twitter why Republicans would chant "Lock her up" in reference to former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's email server scandal, but are staying relatively quiet regarding Trump allegedly revealing classified information to Russia.
"President Trump has long been careless with the truth, but now he appears to have gone further," he tweeted.
Rhode Island's other Democratic senator, Jack Reed, called Trump's recklessness "deeply disturbing and clearly problematic."
"I don't believe the President intentionally meant to reveal highly secretive information to the Russians," he continued. "But if the Washington Post report is accurate then the President crossed a line that could have a real negative impact on national security and harm relations with our allies."
New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said she was "very concerned" about President Trump's alleged intelligence sharing and called for a classified briefing for members of the Senate.
"All potential Trump tapes should be subpoenaed to uncover truth and preserve evidence - both Comey and meeting with Russians," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) tweeted.
Connecticut's other Democratic senator, Chris Murphy, was succinct with a tweeted statement.
"It didn't start last week," he said. "This Administration has been off the rails since Spicer went to the podium to complain about inauguration totals."
