There are 15 full-time members of the Senate Intelligence Committee — eight Republicans and seven Democrats — and the panel is considered to be one of the last bastions of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill.
The committee is led by Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Vice Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-Va.).
Burr is the son of a minister and played football at Wake Forest University. He spent 17 years selling lawn equipment before winning a House seat in 1994. Beyond his current perch, he’s known as a quirkier member, known for wearing loafers with no socks and owning a Volkswagen Thing that he parks prominently near the U.S. Capitol.
Warner is a Connecticut native who attended George Washington University and worked on Capitol Hill before becoming a multimillionaire technology executive and then launching his political career.
Burr became committee chairman in 2015 when Republicans seized control of the Senate. Warner became top Democrat on the panel this year when Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) dropped one slot in the pecking order so she could take the top Democratic seat on the Judiciary Committee. Democrats see the new assignment as a way to keep Warner — a former governor who has admitted to presidential aspirations — happy, and to help him fully embrace his senatorial role.
REPUBLICANS:
James E. Risch (Idaho): Risch is one of Trump’s biggest supporters on Capitol Hill and is among the Republicans especially concerned about ongoing leaks to the news media. In recent interviews, he’s called on the Justice Department to root out the “weasel” leaking the information. He’s served on the panel since 2009 — making him one of the longer-serving members.
Marco Rubio (Fla.): The former presidential candidate is among the Republicans willing to criticize Trump publicly. He’s been on the Intelligence Committee since 2011.
Susan Collins (Maine): On the committee since 2013, Collins is also among the president’s most vocal critics in regards to the Russia affair.
Roy Blunt (Mo.): A member of Senate GOP leadership, he’s among a handful of senators in both parties who pressured Burr to intensify the committee’s investigation of Russian meddling this year. During one particularly intense exchange on the Senate floor in February, Blunt and other senators told Burr that if the intelligence panel didn’t step up, other committees would fill the void. Blunt served on the committee during his first two years in the Senate (2011-2012) and rejoined the panel in 2015 after serving in the interim on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
James Lankford (Okla.): The Oklahoma senator joined the committee in 2015. He’s a staunch defender of the committee’s Russia probe, even in the face of criticism that it is complicating Trump’s presidency. He said he’s focused on how Russia’s meddling may have hampered the nation’s public institutions.
Tom Cotton (Ark.): A staunch supporter of Trump’s foreign policy, he joined the committee in 2015.
John Cornyn (Tex.): The second-ranking Republican senator, he’s also a Trump ally and far less willing to be critical of the president — other than to voice concern with how the investigations and Trump’s response distract from Republican legislative priorities.
DEMOCRATS:
Dianne Feinstein (Calif.): The former committee chairwoman is the only member who also sits on the Judiciary Committee, which is responsible for oversight of the Justice Department. She has called on Sessions to come before that committee as well.
Ron Wyden (Ore.): He’s one of the longest-serving committee members, on the panel since 2001. He’s also known as a fierce critic of the intelligence community.
Martin Heinrich (N.M.): An engineer by training, the New Mexico senator keeps a low profile but has been on the committee since he joined the Senate in 2012. Unlike some colleagues more interested in grandstanding, Heinrich usually uses his question time to extract actual information. He also regularly challenges witnesses for not being more forthcoming with information.
Angus King (Maine): The committee’s only independent senator has been totally uncompromising in promoting the committee’s probe.
Joe Manchin III (W.Va.): The moderate Democrat joined the committee this year.
Kamala D. Harris (Calif.): The former California attorney general is the only first-term senator on the committee and is often mentioned as a potential 2020 presidential candidate.
Regarding the committee’s Russia investigation, “I do become a bit impatient with the case, I do believe we need to pick it up,” she told the San Diego Union-Tribune this month.