House Armed Services to get classified briefing on ISIS and Ukraine

The House Armed Services Committee will receive a closed-door briefing on the latest security developments in Iraq and Ukraine on Sept. 9, according to a House aide.

The session will focus on “worldwide security threats with a focus on Ukraine and ISIS,” the aide said.

{mosads}The classified brief is slated to take place the first full day lawmakers will be back on Capitol Hill following the five-week August recess. It was not immediately clear who would update panel members.

Lawmakers have been away for several significant developments on both fronts, such as President Obama’s authorization of U.S. airstrikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters operating out of Iraq.

The president is said to be considering expanding air operations to include ISIS targets in Syria.

Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) last week challenged the president to consult with Congress to come up with a “comprehensive strategy” to defeating the extremist group.

“This comprehensive approach may well require additional authorities from Congress, but speculation about that before the president has even offered a strategy is putting the cart before the horse,” he said in a statement.

In Ukraine, Russian military forces have launched several incursions into the country in recent days, prompting McKeon and other GOP lawmakers to demand Obama say definitively whether he considered Russia’s actions in Ukraine an invasion.

“If reports prove accurate that Putin has in fact sent over 1,000 troops into Ukraine to support and fight alongside Russian-backed separatists, this is an act of war against the sovereign state of Ukraine,” McKeon and Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio) said in a joint statement.

–This report was updated at 3:49 p.m.