Congressional leaders blindsided, scrambling on refugee ban

[...] as lawmakers struggled to gather details for constituents about the temporary halt to all refugee admissions, as well as immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations, at least one prominent GOP senator was told that the State Department had been instructed not to communicate with Congress.

[...] my staff was told the State Department as of today was ordered not to talk to Congress about this issue, said Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.

[...] the administration's decision to make a major foreign policy move with no notice to Congress raised questions about how well the Trump White House will work with Capitol Hill to push through a massive legislative agenda that includes repealing and replacing Barack Obama's health care law, overhauling the tax code and building a border wall.

[...] late Monday, confirming some details of a report in Politico, the House Judiciary Committee said that some staff members had been "permitted" to lend their expertise on immigration to the Trump transition team.