The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Who’s who on Senate panel,
Who are the people who questioned James Comey?
Here’s a brief list of the members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, their backgrounds and their history with Comey.
Richard Burr, R-N.C.
The chairman of the committee, which he joined in 2007, Burr embraced President Donald Trump during the campaign. But he has earned praise from his peers in both parties in recent weeks for the seriousness with which he has taken his role in leading the Senate’s investigation.
Mark Warner, D-Va.
Warner, the highest-ranking Democrat on the committee, has thrived in the spotlight that the investigation brings. He has in the past expressed presidential ambitions and has praised Burr, whom he calls a friend, for his leadership of the committee.
Jim Risch, R-Idaho
Risch was elected to the Senate in 2009 and has been a member of the committee since then. He is one of Trump’s strongest supporters in Congress and has expressed significant concern about leaks to the media. He is a former governor of Idaho.
Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
Feinstein, who was once the head of the committee, has in the past criticized Comey for his actions in the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server. But she expressed concern after he was fired in May and said then that she believed he should “absolutely” testify before the other committee on which she sits, the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
A candidate for president in 2016, Rubio joined the Intelligence Committee in 2011. Rubio has been willing to criticize Trump, his former campaign rival, and has been dismissive of the president’s complaints that the Russia investigation is a “witch hunt.” “We are nation of laws, and we are going to follow those laws,” Rubio said recently.
Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
Wyden, who has been on the panel since 2001, has been a strong critic of the Trump administration and had early on called for Comey to appear in front of the committee.
Susan Collins, R-Maine
Collins, who has been on the committee since 2013, is known as one of the most moderate Republicans now serving in the Senate. She has been tougher on the president than many colleagues in her party. “I really want to know the truth no matter who is implicated, no matter where the evidence leads,” she said last month.
Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.
Heinrich joined the committee when he arrived in the Senate in 2013. He pushed the FBI’s acting director, Andrew McCabe, to assert that Comey still enjoyed “broad support” among the agency’s rank and file.
Roy Blunt, R-Mo.
Blunt, along with Collins, has been a strong supporter of Congress’ investigation into Russia’s actions in the 2016 presidential election. A former acting House majority leader, he has been on the panel twice, leaving after 2012 and rejoining in 2015.
Angus King, independent, Maine
King, a former governor of Maine who caucuses with the Democrats, has been on the committee since he joined the Senate in 2013. One of the most steadfast members of the committee, he caused a stir Wednesday when he pressed McCabe and other intelligence officials on why they could not elaborate on earlier conversations they had with Comey.
James Lankford, R-Okla.
Lankford, who was once a Baptist youth minister, joined the committee in 2015. He has insisted on the seriousness of its investigation into Russia’s alleged interference and has said that he hopes that Comey’s hearing will “hopefully end speculation and lead us to facts.”
Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.
Manchin, a moderate Democrat and a former governor of West Virginia, is known for crossing the aisle. He joined the Senate in 2011 and was assigned to the committee this year. He told the media that Comey, shortly before his firing, had sought more resources for the Russia investigation.
Tom Cotton, R-Ark.
A former member of the U.S. Army and the youngest U.S. senator, Cotton has expressed skepticism of Comey’s accounts of his interactions with Trump. He joined the committee in 2015.
Kamala Harris, D-Calif.
Harris was ferocious in her calls for a special prosecutor to supervise the FBI’s Russia investigation. Often named as a potential presidential candidate, Harris, a former attorney general of California, was assigned to the committee this year when she joined the Senate. She has expressed impatience with the Senate’s probe, saying she thinks it needs to be sped up.
John Cornyn, R-Texas
Cornyn, the majority whip, only recently joined the panel. He is one of Trump’s stronger allies in Congress and was reportedly being considered to replace Comey before taking himself out of the running last month.
Jack Reed, D-R.I., and John McCain, R-Ariz.
Both questioned Comey on Thursday. As the leaders of the Armed Services Committee, they are “ex officio” members of the Intelligence Committee, as are the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.