U.S. Senator John McCain speaks during a news conference following a meeting with Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite at the Presidential Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania, Thursday, Dec. 29. | AP Photo McCain plans Russia cyber hearing for Thursday

Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain has scheduled a hearing on cyber threats for Thursday, where the issue of Russia's election-year hacking will take center stage, a source familiar with the committee's planning told POLITICO.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, National Security Agency and Cyber Command Chief Adm. Mike Rogers and Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Marcel Lettre are scheduled to testify, according to the source.


The timing of the hearing — three days into the new Congress — is in the same week that President-elect Donald Trump says he plans to be briefed by the intelligence community on the Russian hacking.

The Obama administration issued new sanctions against Russia on Thursday in response to the hacking, kicking 35 Russian diplomats and intelligence operatives out of the U.S. and targeting Moscow's primary security service, the FSB, and its main intelligence directorate, the GRU.

Trump has been dismissive of the administration's charges that Russia tampered with the presidential campaign. In response to the sanctions, Trump said in a statement Thursday, "It's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things," but also said that he would meet next week with intelligence leaders — potentially some of the same officials to testify before McCain's committee.

The Arizona Republican has called for creating a Select Committee in Congress to investigate the Russian hacking allegations. And on Thursday, he and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said they would push for "stronger sanctions on Russia" in the new Congress.

