Politico reports that key GOP congressional staffers — some of the most well-versed people on immigration policy in Washington — helped the White House draft its executive ban. In secret. Without the knowledge of their bosses, who happen to be powerful members of Congress and who seemed very much blindsided by Trump's order, which their own staff members may have worked on.

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If true, that would be a stunning breach of protocol and, frankly, these staff members' job duties.

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It would be kind of like if the chief executive of another firm in your field called and asked you to help her write an earth-shattering memo, but keep it secret from your company. Oh, and just to make sure you don't tell your bosses, please sign this nondisclosure agreement.

(Politico reports that two sources with knowledge of the staffers' work said they signed nondisclosure agreements.)

On Wednesday morning, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), who chairs the House Judiciary Committee with the staffers in question, issued a statement saying he "proudly" gave permission to his staff to advise Trump's transition team before the inauguration on immigration law:

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"To be clear, while they gave advice to the new administration, they did not have decision making authority on the policy." He went on to say "my staff had no control of the language contained in the president's order, the timing of the announcement, the rollout and subsequent implementation, and the coordination with Congress."

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His statement did not comment on reports his staff signed nondisclosure agreements, which is one of the odder parts of this story.

“The idea that House Judiciary Committee staffers would sign a nondisclosure agreement precluding them from informing Goodlatte is wholly out of bounds,” said Andrew Wright, a former associate counsel to former president Barack Obama who now specializes in separation of powers at the Savannah Law School. “If the story is true, Sally Yates won’t have the only office cleaned out by the start of business this morning."

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Beyond internal staff struggles, this news could add fuel to a smoldering fire: that Trump is leaving out Capitol Hill Republicans in his deliberations. He's not just circumventing them but could possibly be undermining them as well.

By just about all accounts, congressional Republicans were completely caught off guard by the executive order when Trump signed it Friday and were just as confused as the rest of the world about what it actually said.

As they spent the weekend scrambling to figure it out, Democratic members of Congress had no trouble defining it as an unconstitutional religious test. “Make no mistake — this is a Muslim ban,” Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) said in a statement less than an hour after Trump had signed it.

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(Although the courts will be the final arbiter on that, the wording of the order itself helped them make that case: It said there would be exceptions for persecuted religious minorities from those majority-Muslim nations, such as Christians. Trump's previous rhetoric on Muslim bans isn't helping.)

With thousands of protesters in airports across the country, and at least four federal courts halting parts of the order, dozens of GOP members of Congress still scratching their heads felt they had no choice but to criticize the travel ban.

“Clearly it was rolled out without much explanation, which resulted in confusion, which allowed the policy's critics to frame it in the worst possible way,” GOP strategist Alex Conant said.

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Add to the chaos the fact that Trump's White House may have used congressional staffers behind these members' backs, and you have the potential for some serious #drama.

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Wright says it's not unusual for Congress and the White House to work together, formally or informally, on policy. But it is incredibly unusual to have congressional staff members play a role in crafting one of the most controversial executive orders in recent memory when those charged with implementing it (the head of Homeland Security) and overseeing it (Congress) were not as intimately involved.

This relationship is not irreparable. It's only Trump's second week on the job, and judging by how many Republicans have yet to comment on the executive order, they're giving him the benefit of the doubt that this is just a learning curve.

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Both sides need each other if they want to govern successfully. Republicans need the White House's support to repeal the Affordable Care Act and overhaul the tax code. Trump could have used Republicans' help explaining the logic behind his travel ban before he lost control of the narrative. As it was, he was left blaming Delta Air Lines, “bad dudes” and attacking GOP Sens. John McCain (Ariz.) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.).