While Rod Rosenstein has not yet agreed to the briefing, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he expects it will occur. | AP Photo Rosenstein expected to brief all senators on Comey firing

Senate leaders Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer have invited Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to brief all 100 senators on President Donald Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey, Schumer announced on the Senate floor Thursday afternoon.

While Rosenstein has not yet explicitly agreed to the request, Schumer and congressional aides said they believe the briefing is likely to occur. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that he’d requested that the briefing occur early next week; a spokesman for McConnell (R-Ky.) said the majority leader is “working on scheduling a briefing” and will soon announce the date.


Trump said on Thursday NBC that he was going to fire Comey regardless of Rosenstein’s recommendation that he do so. Schumer said that means the “need for these briefings is even greater than it was this morning given what the president said this afternoon.”

“We need to understand the true nature of the events that led to director Comey’s dismissal: Why it happened and what it means for the investigation into the potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia as we move forward,” Schumer said. “The rule of law, the separation of powers, and the strength and hallmarks of American democracy are at stake.”

Schumer has also requested that Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a former Republican senator, brief the Senate as well because of Sessions’ involvement in Comey’s firing. But that briefing has not yet been arranged, Schumer said.

“My caucus still believes that Attorney General Sessions must be made available to the Senate in a similar capacity,” Schumer said. “I hope that the majority leader comes to the right decision and grants our request to question Mr. Sessions.”

The briefing with Rosenstein will likely be closed and may be partially classified.