During a meeting with members of Congress on Wednesday, the director of the National Security Agency (NSA) warned the government shutdown threatens national security measures, NBC News reported.
"The damage will be insidious," Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said during a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "Each day that goes by, the jeopardy increases. This is a dreamland for foreign intelligence services to recruit."
Members on both sides of the aisle expressed concern immediately following Clapper's comments.
"You scared the hell out of us!" Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said.
Once the shutdown began on Tuesday, 70 percent of NSA employees were placed on temporary unpaid leave. Although shutdown guidelines force staff to be furloughed according to "imminent threat," Clapper said all intelligence workers are essential to keeping the country safe.
The Washington Post reported that several sections of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have been affected by the cuts, including analysts and case officers. However, they refused to release any further detail, saying it is classified information and could not risk disclosing vulnerabilities that adversaries may seek to take advantage of.
Several lawmakers suggested Clapper should reach out to President Barack Obama about a furlough relief plan.
With no estimation of when the shutdown will end, Clapper and NSA Director General Keith Alexander said they have done the best they can by staffing on day-to-day basis.
On Tuesday, Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a speech on the Senate floor that the shutdown cuts would "cripple" intelligence agencies and put U.S. forces overseas at serious risk.
"Our shutdown is the biggest gift that we could possibly give our enemies," Feinstein said. With a few exceptions, "the lights are being turned off and the majority of the people who produce our intelligence, analyze intelligence and provide warning of terrorist attacks or advise policymakers of major national security events will be prevented from doing their jobs."
