By Laurence McQuillan, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle warned Sunday that a chasm is developing between Congress and the White House over the way he says President Bush is cloaking the war on terrorism in secrecy. His latest example: Lawmakers were not told of secret plans for an emergency shadow government.

Daschle praised Bush for meeting with congressional leaders on a regular basis but said they are not kept fully informed about the long-term strategy of the war and new battlegrounds of the campaign.

Senior administration officials say that since Sept. 11, teams of 75 to 150 executive branch officials have been assigned to work for up to three months at two secret underground bunkers on the East Coast so the federal government could keep operating if terrorists attacked Washington with nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.

Under the emergency plan, at least one Cabinet official is away from Washington at all times to maintain a presidential line of succession, the officials say.

Daschle told Fox News Sunday he doesn't object to Bush's ordering of a backup government but thinks that at least senior members of Congress should have been notified.

"None of us knew about the secret government," Daschle said. "Not knowing things as basic as that is a pretty profound illustration of the chasm that exists sometimes with information" about the war.

"It's happened before. ... It's an illustration of the need for a better communications process," he added.

Democrats say they were not told in advance of Bush's decision to send U.S. troops to Yemen, the Philippines and Georgia to help train anti-terrorism forces.

White House spokesman Taylor Gross countered, "There has been and will continue to be full cooperation to implement this important constitutional responsibility."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told CNN's Late Edition that creating a backup government was "probably a prudent step to take" by the White House. But he said congressional leaders and "the American people should have been informed of it."

"Maybe we should have some ground rules as to who should be consulted and under what circumstances," McCain said.

No provisions have been made for the legislative and judicial branches to function outside of the nation's capitol.

Vice President Cheney was heavily involved in shaping the plan, which was first disclosed by The Washington Post.

Senate Republican leader Trent Lott, who appeared with Daschle on NBC's Meet the Press, said Daschle's complaints could hurt the war effort. "Any sign that we are losing that unity or crack in that support will be, I think, used against us overseas," he said.

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