# Gang of Eight > [!info] Not the 2013 immigration group > The bipartisan Senate group that wrote the 2013 comprehensive immigration bill was also nicknamed the "Gang of Eight." That bill is [[Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013]]. The eight congressional leaders who can receive notice of the most sensitive intelligence operations when the president decides to limit who is told: the **Speaker and House minority leader, the Senate majority and minority leaders, and the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees.** It is named in more than a dozen vault pages; this is the page they point to. ## The law The statute (50 U.S.C. §3093(c)(2)) covers **covert action**. Normally the president must report a covert-action finding to the full [[House Intelligence Committee]] and [[Senate Intelligence Committee]]. In "extraordinary circumstances affecting vital interests of the United States," he may limit notice to the Gang of Eight — with a written statement of reasons if notice is not given in advance, and a requirement after 180 days to widen access or re-justify the restriction. A "Gang of Four" (the intelligence committees' chairs and ranking members only) is practice, not statute. > [!note] What it doesn't cover > Military strikes under the president's Title 10 authorities are not covert action. For them, briefing the Gang of Eight is a courtesy, not a legal duty — which is why its use in 2025–26 has been selective. ## Episodes | Date | Episode | |---|---| | May 24, 2018 | Amid [[Devin Nunes]]'s campaign against the FBI's Russia investigation, the Justice Department briefs first Nunes and [[Trey Gowdy]] alone, then the Gang of Eight, on the informant Stefan Halper | | June 21, 2025 | Before the U.S. strikes on Iran, the Republican Speaker and intelligence members are told in advance; Senate Minority Leader Schumer gets a "courtesy call"; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the Democratic intelligence leaders do not: "I asked for a Gang of Eight briefing, it has yet to occur!" | | Jan 3, 2026 | The Gang of Eight is told of the operation to seize Nicolás Maduro only after it begins; Secretary of State [[Marco Rubio]] says advance notice could have jeopardized it | | Feb 2026 | Before the [[Iran War 2026]] ("Operation Epic Fury"), Rubio gives the group an hour-long briefing three days ahead and reaches seven of the eight by phone on the night of the strikes | **2026 members:** Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker Mike Johnson, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Intelligence Chair Tom Cotton and Vice Chair [[Mark Warner]], House Intelligence Chair Rick Crawford and Ranking Member Jim Himes. ## Why it matters here The Gang of Eight is the thinnest point of congressional control over secret and military action. When notice is optional, whether the opposition's leaders are told becomes a political choice — fully in one case, after the fact in another, by phone on the night in a third. ## See Also - [[House Intelligence Committee]] · [[Senate Intelligence Committee]] - [[Iran War 2026]] · [[Marco Rubio]] - [[Congress Hub]]