See below for video and highlights from Sen. Mark Warner’s weekly press availability.
- “Unfortunately, earlier this week, the president signed the reconciliation bill, which, if I can remind you, is $70 billion for ICE and CBP. That’s on top of the over $140 billion that went into ICE and these agencies in the Big Ugly Bill. You know, ICE now has a bigger budget than the FBI and has a bigger budget than the French Army. And, you know, I think ICE plays a critical role, not against the notion of ICE, but I do believe there need to be reforms. We saw the tragedy in Minneapolis, but we’ve also seen the kind of violence that’s taking place now up in Newark, New Jersey, at a facility. I think the vast majority of Americans want guardrails on ICE and again, let’s be clear, cut to the chase, what we want ICE to operate is under the same rules that our state police and our local police operate, identify themselves, don’t wear these masks all the time, operate on good policing protocols. And we thought we were going to see progress on that. But then the administration shut down. So that $70 billion, borrowed as well, to go to ICE at the same time that we are cutting health care, we’ve had 32,000 Virginians lose health insurance from the Obamacare cuts. We’ll see 300,000 more after November when the Medicaid cuts come in. I’ve seen 13 Virginia rural hospitals say they may close. And this is where we’re going to put our resources, as opposed to health care. So I think a huge mistake, and it’s one of the reasons why the president’s at record lows in terms of numbers.”
- “Finally…the ongoing effects of this war of choice with Iran. The president has said 30 different times in the last few weeks that the war is over. Obviously, the war is not over. If anything, the president seems to be escalating. None of the goals the president had of regime change, securing the enriched uranium, making sure that Iran didn’t have the ability to strike back, which they are clearly striking back against our allies in the region, and making sure the Strait of Hormuz is open – none of that is happening. And while we’ve seen gas prices ticked down a little bit, they’re still about $4.20-$4.25. You know, every expert has said we have so depleted all of the world’s kind of reserves that by July 4th, those prices, even if the president declares victory tomorrow, are going to skyrocket back up. And this is not just about gas prices, it’s about grocery prices, which has most of their goods delivered by trucks that run on diesel. It’s about airline prices. The airline tickets are skyrocketing. It’s about aluminum costs. And again, don’t believe me. Inflation last quarter was over 4%. That’s about as bad as the worst days under Biden. And, you know… this is what happens when a president starts a war of choice and doesn’t have a full-fledged plan. And Americans are going to be paying for that at the pump, at the grocery store, if they try to travel. And virtually even declaring victory, none of that is going to get reversed quickly. And that’s unfortunate.”
- “Ten days ago, the president threw a live hand grenade in putting forward an individual with no qualifications to be the director of National Intelligence, Bill Pulte. His only qualification is being a Trump hatchet man, and he’s shown a complete disregard of any kind of confidential information. You know, if he couldn’t keep mortgage information secret, think what he’ll do if he’s in charge of all of our intelligence agencies. And the law is clear. The law says if you want to nominate somebody, you’ve got to have national security experience. He has zero. And even my Republican friends have said the same. And we’re now in an emergency. So I am more than happy to do a short-term [FISA] extension, if the president follows the law. The law says if the Director of National intelligence leaves, the acting becomes the number two. The number two is a Trump appointed, Senate confirmed 25-year professional. Mr. Lucas. He becomes the interim. I’ll sign off on a three-week, four-week extension today. But no, you’ve got the president disregarding the law again…I’ve been clear. This is not Republican Senate problem. We were working in good faith, even on this one. I think even the Speaker has tried to work in good faith. We had presented with working with people in the Cabinet a series of off ramps for the president. He rejected them. You know, people will will do the pointing back and forth, but there is no one in the national security domain that doesn’t get them to tell the truth. They will say if this goes dark, the person responsible is Donald Trump. And again, I keep questioning whether he even wants this be renewed, because…a couple of months ago, we had all of the intelligence community in saying how important 702 was. And then we said, well, what is the position of the Trump White House? They had no position. It’s only been in the last or weeks that Trump White House has even came out in favor of 702. Totally irresponsible. I hope there is, cooler heads will prevail. But one person responsible here, Donald Trump. And I think, again, look at the comments of my particularly my Senate Republican colleagues have said, you know, this is a White House problem.”
- “Listen, I’ve had a plan for Social Security for over a decade that said, we’ve got to raise the cap so those of us who’ve done well can pay more in. At the same time…we need to say to people under 35 or under 30, you may have to wait an extra year. The same thing that happened back in 1983 between President Reagan and then Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill, and that what we ought to do is make Social Security solvent for 50 years. And then every ten years, you’ve got to make it solvent for the next 50 years going forward. It was a logical, rational program, a proposal that came out of the Simpson-Bowles and my Gang of Six in 2011 and 2012. Unfortunately, both parties have punted. And Social Security is actually the easiest one to fix because it’s math. The thing is, people are living longer. That’s great. But if you’re only paying in a small amount and that’s not adjusted up to for those of us who have the ability to pay in a little bit more and people are living longer, obviously there’s not going to be enough left in the pot. I think Social Security is sacrosanct. I think we absolutely have an obligation to protect it, And we could fix it by raising the cap, making it solvent for 50 years. And yes, looking at a slight age adjustment for people under 30 or 35. I’ve not met a single person under 30 or 35 that really thinks they’re going to get Social Security. So saying you may have to wait an extra year to get it. I had no pushback.”
- “As a former governor, I don’t overtly weigh in, but I will say this. You know, Virginia’s earned its reputation is as the best state for business. We need to maintain that. And I don’t think we should go back on our word. And I also don’t believe that, you know, the approach that some other states are taking around total [data center] moratoriums make sense. But I do think, and I think this would be better done at the federal level. I think there needs to be the responsibility for these data centers to pay their fair share. And that means no increase in utility bills, making sure there’s disclosure about appropriate use of water, making sure there are appropriate setbacks so that neighborhoods are not unduly affected. Making sure that even if the power is clean, that the backup power is also safe and secure. And making sure that before a community agrees, you have to have full disclosure of all the terms. Because if you don’t do that, and we’re seeing already in Virginia, community after community, turning them down. So I think there is a path to get there. I’d rather see it at the federal level. I’m not going to weigh in on the particulars, but I want Virginia to maintain its business reputation. And I also want to maintain…we’re not going to put…AI is here, we’re not putting the genie back in the bottle. I think the decision on location of these data centers ultimately needs to be left to the community. But I do think there needs to be a minimum set of standards. And I’ve co-sponsored legislation at the federal level, and I’m looking at even more extensive ways to do this. And I have looked at ways that, you know, one of the ways that we can, getting into how we fund some of this is, is really problematic at the federal level. You know, you have a token tax, utility tax that may push people to Chinese open source models. I’m looking at something, I think pretty creative about saying while the benefits of AI may be downstream, you know, where the companies are collecting all the benefits up front, so delaying for some time their use of accelerated depreciation on these buildings could be one step, but it can also generate some revenue. Because you’ve heard me talk…in the past, that I really believe we are going to have a major short-term job dislocation problem, particularly for people coming out of college, and we don’t have anything in place to how we really train people for the AI-ready economy.”
- “If you were planning on a six-month deployment, you can plan for that. You can plan for child care. You can plan on you know, how you’re going to who’s going to work, who’s going to do what. But if that deployment goes from six to almost 12 months, you miss birthdays, births, deaths, your child care may run out. And our sailors will do their duty, and they did it extraordinarily. But the fact that the Ford was headed in one direction and then taken over to the Caribbean to be off Venezuela, then moved over to the, Eastern Med. And, you know, as good as our ships are, a 12-month deployment, we’ve seen a fire on the fort where a lot of the bunks were destroyed. So they’ll do their duty. But I do think if a deployment goes beyond what was expected, there needs to be some grace offered to these families. There needs to be additional child care support…Some flexibility. Because we will drive our sailors and our soldiers and our airmen out of the military. They will do their duty. But I worry with this administration, it wants to buy more stuff at an unprecedented level – armaments…tools, satellites. But the corresponding investment in our families and our veterans isn’t there… the irony, if we want to stand by our military, but we don’t give a damn about their families or our veterans. It’s outrageous. These are the most patriotic people in the country and the spouses that are home, male or female, every bit as patriotic as their spouse that’s on active duty. And we need to treat them with more respect.”
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UPDATE 3:40 pm – Statement from Sen. Mark Warner
STATEMENT OF SENATE INTELLIGENCE VICE CHAIR MARK R. WARNER
~ On Trump announcing he plans to nominate Jay Clayton as Director of National Intelligence ~
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement:
“I have known and respected Jay Clayton for many years and believe he is a capable public servant. The position of Director of National Intelligence is one of the most important national security jobs in government, overseeing the Intelligence Community and serving as the president’s principal intelligence advisor. Any nominee for this role deserves a thorough confirmation process and rigorous questioning before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“At the same time, the timing of this announcement raises an obvious question: if the president intended to nominate Mr. Clayton, why spend the last ten days insisting that the Intelligence Community be led by an acting director who lacks the extensive national security experience required by statute and whose appointment raises serious concerns about the politicization of intelligence? The president could have put forward a qualified nominee from the beginning. Instead, he waited until the House of Representatives went out of town, choosing a path that raises the risk of an entirely avoidable lapse in a critical national security tool.
“That said, let me be clear – while I am glad to see the president finally come to his senses, before the Senate can take up a FISA extension there needs to be a clear guarantee that Mr. Pulte will not serve as acting DNI. Either Director Gabbard must remain in place or the administration must designate the Senate-confirmed Principal Deputy DNI as the acting head through any transition.”
