Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Credit:AP "I need to see it sooner rather than later," Chaffetz, who recently announced he was leaving Congress, said on Twitter. "I have my subpoena pen ready." The revelation about Comey's memo, a day after it was disclosed that Trump had revealed sensitive intelligence to Russian officials, added another layer of chaos and uncertainty on Capitol Hill, diverting attention from debates on health care and tax policy and increasing many lawmakers' reservations about the president. Lawmakers in both parties were largely confounded by the latest controversy, one in a series of crises that have hobbled their ability to move forward with any of Trump's policy priorities. As the day began, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, who had been mostly silent on the president's increasing troubles concerning Russia, carefully pleaded with the administration to stop impeding the Republican agenda. But even as he tried to change the conversation to health care, the focus remained firmly on the president and Russia.

Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer Credit:AP "I think we could do with a little less drama from the White House on a lot of things so that we can focus on our agenda," McConnell said in an interview on Bloomberg Television on Tuesday morning, reflecting the Republican majority's increasing frustration over the White House's mishaps. Later, when asked during a news conference on Capitol Hill whether he was concerned about Trump's competence in handling intelligence information, McConnell paused for several beats before responding, "No." Trump's first national security adviser Michael Flynn. Credit:AP By evening, the drama swelled with the news of Comey's memo, and Democrats began demanding an even more aggressive investigation of Trump.

"You're watching an obstruction of justice investigation developing in real time," said Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "If there were ever any question about the need for an independent special prosecutor, this report is the nail on the argument." Former adviser Michael Flynn. Credit:AP Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said the report solidified the need for Comey to brief lawmakers again. He said they also wanted to see his notes. "Enough is enough," Schiff told reporters. "Congress needs to get to the bottom of this." House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz Credit:AP

But most Republicans, who hold majorities in the House and Senate, were far more tempered in their assessments. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina suggested that he was withholding judgment, saying he was "not going to opine about a memo." "If the FBI director feels the president did something inappropriate, he should come in and tell us," Graham told reporters. Asked if he was any more inclined now to embrace a special prosecutor to investigate ties between Trump's associates and Russia, Graham said no. "Nobody's showing me a crime anywhere," he said.

Rep. K. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, who is leading the House investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, declined to comment Tuesday as members of the committee filed out of a closed-door meeting with Mike Pompeo, the CIA director. Other Republicans said they had not had time to process the news of Comey's memo. "I don't know the facts," said Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the second most powerful Senate Republican, who took himself out of contention on Tuesday to be Comey's replacement. In an interview on CNN, Senator Angus King, the Maine independent who typically votes with Democrats, was asked whether the revelation of the Comey memo had made impeachment proceedings more likely. "Reluctantly, I have to say yes," he said.

Some Republicans seemed inclined to defend Trump and to question any news report that suggested executive impropriety. After a lengthy defence of the president, Senator Jim Risch of Idaho turned to an Associated Press reporter who appeared unconvinced. "Get that look off your face," Risch said, grinning. "Be happy! Come on. He's not so bad." Republican lawmakers who represent swing districts were more inclined to be critical of the president. "Once again, we are faced with inexplicable stories coming from the White House that are highly troubling," said Representative Barbara Comstock of Virginia, who is up for re-election next year in a highly competitive district. McConnell did not go as far Tuesday as Senator Susan Collins, a Republican member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who suggested in a statement that the information discussed by Trump with the Russians might have endangered allies.

"The disclosure of highly classified information has the potential to jeopardise sources and to discourage our allies from sharing future information vital to our security," Collins said. Loading Senator Richard M. Burr of North Carolina, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, requested that the White House provide information to the committee on the Russian meeting and had yet to hear a reply on Tuesday. But after the news broke about Comey's memo, Burr said that the burden was on The New York Times to produce the document. New York Times