Fort Hood probes

The Senate Armed Services Committee announced last week that it was holding a closed briefing on the deadly shootings at Fort Hood.

But after President Barack Obama warned Congress over the weekend not to turn the terrible event into "political theater," the panel announced on Monday that its briefing had been postponed.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is, however, still planning to hold its open hearing on Thursday.

Following Obama’s remarks, Senate panel Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and ranking member Susan Collins (R-Maine) issued a rare Saturday press release stating that the committee looks forward to working with the administration to ascertain the "full story behind the murderous attack."

"To carry out the investigation," Lieberman and Collins said, "Congress will require the prompt and full cooperation of the executive branch — cooperation that must start as soon as possible."

They added, "We totally agree with the president that this inquiry must not turn into ‘political theater’ and it will not."

Lieberman and Collins, who both endorsed Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for president in 2008, were clearly not pleased with the president’s statements.

There is evident tension between the executive and legislative branches on the Fort Hood tragedy.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (Mich.), the senior Republican on the Intelligence Committee, told Fox News recently that administration officials delayed briefing members of Congress about the alleged gunman, which raised "red flags" that the White House was hiding something.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) has suggested there was a financial relationship between the suspected shooter, Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, and Pakistan.

"There appears to have been a Pakistan connection," McCaul said, citing communications and wire transfers. "It … demonstrates why it’s important for Congress to exercise its oversight authority."

There is much on the Capitol Hill agenda this week before the Thanksgiving recess.

The Senate will tackle healthcare reform, while the House will vote on a Medicare physician payment fix.

The House Financial Services panel and Senate Banking Committee will continue their work on financial regulatory reform. Other panels will tackle oversight of the Justice Department, sick leave policies for the swine flu, cancer research and the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch merger.