Washington ? Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Sunday he wants President Bush to keep congressional leaders better informed about the war on terrorism and a “shadow government” that has been operated outside Washington since Sept. 11.

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

He said he intends to raise the issue with the president.

“I do believe that it is important for the leadership of Congress to be made aware of matters of that import, and also to insist that there be some recognition that we’ve got three branches of government,” Daschle said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Since Sept. 11, dozens of senior officials have rotated in and out of two fortified locations along the East Coast to ensure continued government operation in case the nation’s capital is crippled by terrorist attack.

Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., said he was aware that a plan existed but not that senior officials were being moved in and out. In fact, he told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that on Sept. 11, he and Daschle and other leaders “wound up in the place where this shadow government has been rotating in and out.”

Congressional leaders were taken on the day of the terrorist attacks to a government bunker in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, about 75 miles west of Washington.

The plan was conceived as a Cold War precaution against nuclear attack during the Eisenhower administration, but never used until now. It went into effect in the first hours after the attacks and has evolved over time, government officials have said.

Daschle said the White House needs to confer with congressional leaders more often on developments in the fight against terrorism as it expands beyond Afghanistan, and define the war’s goal.

“We need to support our troops  they’ve done an outstanding job. But we also have to ask the right questions. That is the role of Congress. We’re a coequal branch of government, and I don’t think we ought to rubber-stamp any president as we get into these very difficult decisions,” Daschle said.

Sen. John McCain said the administration should consult more with Congress and let Americans know “exactly what our strategy is and what our overall immediate objectives are.”