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Virginia House of Delegates 2024 Fundraising Highlights

By
lowkell
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3

Per VPAP, see below for “how much candidates for the Virginia House of Delegates raised in 2024, grouped by the partisanship of their district according to the VPAP Index.” A few things that jump out at me include:

  • Speaker Don Scott (D) has a ton of money, which will come in very handy this year in protecting his slim, 51-49 Democratic House majority, and hopefully INCREASING that majority by a few seats (note: the VPAP index rates 10/100 VA House of Delegates seats as “competitive,” so hopefully Democrats can pick up a few of those).
  • Regarding the House of Delegates seats rated as “competitive,” it’s great to see Democrat Kimberly Pope Adams significantly outpacing Republican incumbent Kim Taylor in HD82, and also with a cash-on-hand advantage. According to VPAP, HD82 was won by Kamala Harris by 4 points in November, and by Tim Kaine by 7.5 points, so it is DEFINITELY winnable for Democrats this November!
  • In several seats rated as “competitive,” Democrats COULD win them this November, but they’re facing incumbents with fundraising advantages in several of them, such as HD71 (Republican Del. Amanda Batten; Kamala Harris won this district by 5 points) and HD75 (Republican Del. Carrie Coyner; Kamala Harris won this district by 6 points). Also, remember that the vast majority of incumbents win reelection, and that to defeat them, the challenging party needs a VERY strong nominee with lots of resources to communicate with voters. So let’s hope that’s what happens in these two districts.
  • Another winnable district for Democrats is HD57, which Kamala Harris won by a whopping 9 (!) points in November. Currently, the Republican incumbent, Del. David Owen, has the fundraising advantage over his potential Democratic opponents (e.g., May Nivar has $48k cash on hand vs. Owen’s $129k). Presumably, House Dems will pour resources into this district, given the fact that Owen his HIGHLY vulnerable (arguably, he only won in 2023  -by just 2 points at that – because of *massive* negative publicity in the media around the Democratic nominee, Susanna Gibson).
  • In HD97, incumbent Democratic Del. Michael Feggans has a large fundraising advantage over Republican former Del. Tim Anderson, who is challenging Feggans. Let’s make sure it stays that way in this blue-leaning district (Kamala Harris won it by 8 points in November).

Anyway, those are just a few things that jump out at me at a glance, definitely not comprehensive by any means. What jumps out at you?

Friday News: “Israel’s security cabinet meets to vote on Gaza deal”; “Biden Reiterates He’s Worried ‘How Fragile Democracy Is’ In Final Interview”; “Trump’s corrupt TikTok flip-flop exposes his craven national security cabinet”; SpaceX’s “rapid unscheduled disassembly”

By
lowkell
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11

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, January 17.

Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says He’ll Go to Trump’s Inauguration, Wants Him to Succeed, Hopes He Ditches “American Carnage” for Optimistic/Unifying View of America

By
lowkell
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9

See below for video and a few highlights from Sen. Mark Warner’s press availability earlier today. Lots of questions on TikTok, and that’s certainly an important issue, but c’mon – there’s a TON of other important stuff going on in the country and the world, do we really need journalist after journalist to ask about the same topic, let alone one that’s probably not even in the top 50 most-important issues facing us right now?

  • “I joined with I think the vast majority of Americans, probably the vast majority of folks in the world, celebrating the announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza that will allow the hostages who were so brutally abducted on October 7th to be returned to their families, as well as for the level of ceaseless violence in Gaza to come to an end and many Palestinians to be able hopefully go back to their their more normal life and begin the process of rebuilding that critical part of the world that’s going to require nation states like Saudi Arabia and the Emiratis to help. Now, we thought yesterday that you know, all systems go, but as we know in this world nothing, in particular in the Middle East, nothing’s done until it’s done. And the fact that the Israeli government has not met at the cabinet level, I am not sure what the delay reason is, but clearly this ceasefire needs to be implemented. I hope both Hamas leadership and the Israeli government leadership will act on this deal. I think it was great work of both President Biden and president-elect Trump, they came together on this it’s good for the region, it’s good for the world, let’s get it done.”
  • “The inauguration, it’s coming up on Monday, it’s going to be I imagine a wild-and-woolly first week or 10 days. I think the president-elect’s got a lot that he wants to do. And let me say I didn’t vote for Donald Trump, I find a lot of his policies I disagree with, but I want Donald Trump to be successful. He’s going to be president of the United States. I’m going to go to the inaguration on Monday. If he can help make sure Americans stay safe, that we can keep our economy moving, that we can bring down inflation, he’ll have me as a supporter and I will support many of his nominees. But when he makes policies or lays out positions that are just not grounded in any factual truth or rolls back basic protections for Americans, then I will oppose him and try to build bipartisan coalitions to do that. So I wish president-elect Trump,  I wish well for our nation, I look forward to where I can partner with him, but I also look forward to holding the line when he tries to restrict Americans rights or unfortunately delve into the world of conspiracy theories.”
  • “Which brings me to the the next subject,  the nominations. As former chairman and now vice chairman of the intelligence committee, I had John Ratcliffe, who is the CIA nominee, up this week. I think Mr Ratcliffe has got the experience necessary. And I felt like I got got the reassurance from him that he will protect the integrity and independence of the intelligence community. The whole value of the intelligence community is to speak truth to power, even if that power doesn’t want to hear it. And I’ve been concerned because of some of President Trump’s statements about attacking the men and women and the integrity of the intelligence community, or somehow saying they want to fire people based upon their political views. We cannot abide that. I believe I got commitments from John Ratcliffe to not fall into that trap of pushing the intelligence community outside of its independent role. And consequently I will be supporting him in his nomination.”
  • “I also had a chance today to interview and and press questions on President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Treasury, Scott Bessent. He’s got I think appropriate background. I want to review more of his answers, but two things I raised today are important: one is a topic that I frankly worked with the first Trump Administration on and that is Community Development Financial Institutions, CDFIs. And we need to continue to partner in terms of those institutions, access to capital...I got the Treasury Secretary designate to acknowledge that he is open to increasing sanctions on Russia. That is extraordinarily important. We do need to resolve the Ukraine-Russia war, but the strongest way we can resolve that is to put the Ukrainians in the best bargaining position possible. And I thought it was quite important that the secretary designate…said that he would try to urge President Trump to bring stronger sanctions. We cannot provide relief for Vladimir Putin’s awful invasion of Ukraine.”
  • “We also do need to remember President Biden has got a few more days left. I think he made a good final message to America last night…”
  • “Final issue I just want to raise…some of the challenges and legislation around the border. And clearly the border has been a mess; the Biden Administration waited way too long to shut that down. And we need a full-fledged bipartisan immigration bill. But part of what President Trump is threatening is to deport people who have overstayed their welcome or committed crimes, going after folks who’ve already been adjudicated.  I understand but there are series of individuals living in Virginia under something called TPS, Temporary Protective Status, from El Salvador, Sudan, Venezuela, Nicaragua, many living in in Northern Virginia, some folk particularly from El Salvador going back to the 1990s they have lived in America for 30 plus years. I’m glad to see that President Biden extended that TPS protections for those individuals so they don’t face undue pressure around whatever President Trump is going to do around deportation.”
  • “I don’t want TikTok to go away. I know there’s a lot of creativity on TikTok, I know there’s a lot of folks who are social influencers make their living off of TikTok. But I, like 80% of the Congress, completely bipartisan, said at the end of the day, TikTok shouldn’t be controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. And unfortunately, that’s what happens right now where our data could be collected or as more and more people use TikTok as their most important news source, the ability for that to be turned into a propaganda tool is a real national security threat. But I would be wide open to a 90-day extension. The current President, Biden, could do that as well, because it feels like with the deadline approaching – it appears the Supreme Court is not going to buy TikTok’s argument that the law is not constitutional – with the law kicking in, it’s finally forced the bidders – because at the end of the day, all we want to do is this to be sold to a non-Chinese entity…so let’s just transfer the control to a non-Chinese entity, if that takes 90 days additional…I’m open to have that timeline, but it should not simply be an extension to nowhere, there has to be a deal that has to be struck and the Chinese Communist Party have to give up control at the end of the day of this valuable asset.”
  • “Most of you know my background was in business. I’ve been very blessed to do really well in American Business. I celebrate people who’ve been successful, and you’re not going to see me the way some of my Democratic candidate colleagues just throw stones at people just because they’re successful or rich. But it is more than a little weird that literally the richest people in the world are all coming together behind Donald Trump, the fact that many of them are being given positions of enormous influence without any kind of checks or balances. And I know Biden called this an oligarchy, and I’m not going to use that term, but I am going to recognize that you look at Vladimir Putin in Russia and who are the group of people around him that are the billionaires who’ve done extraordinarily successful. And I’m not criticizing anybody for being rich or successful, but it feels like a bit of a feeding frenzy, where the wealthiest people in the country and in the world are trying to all see how close they can get to Donald Trump at this moment of transition. And I just want to make sure as policy decisions are made going forward, they’re made on behalf of ALL of the American people and not an elite few.“
  • “This [Israel-Hamas] deal was reached because the Biden Administration and the incoming Trump Administration worked together…This is the best chance for peace in the region, this is the best chance to get those Israeli hostages back to their families after almost a year and a half. This is the best chance to bring an end to the violence that still killed 70 Palestinians last night in Gaza. So you never know in the Middle East, I thought the deal was done yesterday…I don’t want to speculate as to who is kind of walking away at this point. I hope that the cooler heads will prevail. But let’s face it, both on the terrorist side on Hamas and unfortunately sometimes within the Israeli government, some of the far right-wingers there are people that do not want peace. And I hope those voices who do not want peace can be overwhelmed by the vast majority of Palestinians and Israelis who want this conflict to end.”
  • “First of all, I’m going to go to the inauguration because I think we always should celebrate a peaceful transition of power, something that candidly four years ago, the rioters on January 6th tried to interfere with. But I want to go to celebrate that peaceful transfer of power and pay respect. And as I said, I want President Trump to do well. My appeal would be, he won a second turn, he won with a majority, I hope he comes in with an optimistic view of our country. But this willingness to constantly call America bad names, to somehow say it’s an awful place, to denigrate people who work for the American people in the federal government, to denigrate the people who work in our military or the folks that I have a lot of exposure to, the intelligence community, I don’t think that does him or our country any good. So I hope we hear less about ‘carnage’ and more about how he wants to grow the economy, keep us safe, and also if there are areas where we need to shake up the system, I think there’s a lot of things around government efficiency, I’m open to that, but it needs to be really about efficiency, not just a frontal attack on people who are federal workers. So I don’t have the slightest idea…about what he’s actually going to say, but I hope we get a little more, you know the day of inauguration is a time for optimism, it’s a time for uplifting, it’s a time for bringing people together whether they supported him or not. I’m going to be there as somebody who didn’t support him for election, but will support him to be a successful president. I hope he’ll take that into mind.”
  • “I worked well with Mike Turner. I think he was a strong defender of the intelligence committee. I think he…stood up strongly in terms of American support for Ukraine. I don’t have the slightest idea why he got kicked out...I talked with him briefly last night. I think I was surprised, I think he was surprised. I don’t know the incoming chair…I will try to work with him, my job is to work with anybody – you don’t get to pick who you work with in Congress, you work with people that are also hired by their constituents. And the question about whether Trump has too much influence – I can’t think of a president coming in that appears to have more sway with his own political party than Donald Trump does at this moment…It’ll be interesting to see when members are confronted with, here’s the Trump way versus here’s what they view as their positions for the last 20 years, who’s going to win out on that. I think about the number of Republicans who’ve raised concerns about broad-based tariffs that are ending up going to raise costs for Americans, drive up inflation. But…will they simply all roll over? Time will tell. I do remember this, the first Trump presidency was chaotic at best. And this kind of honeymoon that clearly has lasted since the election and through the inauguration, it’ll be curious to see 30 days from now whether there will still be this same kind of, you know, follow Trump no matter what his position is. I think our democracy stays robust where you, regardless of party support the president when he’s right, but be willing to stand up to him when he’s wrong. And time will tell whether that is the rule in the second Trump Administration.”

New Wason Center Virginia Poll: Spanberger Leads Sears by 5 Points (44%-39%); Voters Support Reproductive Freedom Constitutional Amendment by Wide Margin (61%-32%)

By
lowkell
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5

A new poll from CNU’s Wason Center is out this morning; see below for results and highlights.

  • ” In the governor’s race, Congresswoman Spanberger leads Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears by 5-points, 44% to 39%, though 16% remain undecided and another 2% say they will vote for someone else.” (Note: this compares to a recent Mason-Dixon poll, which had Spanberger up 47%-44% over Sears; as well as a recent Emerson College poll, which had Spanberger up by just 1 point, 42%-41%, over Sears).
  • ” Notably, a much larger proportion of Black voters are undecided relative to whites (24% to 12%), suggesting
    that both candidates will have to work hard to earn the Black vote. Independents are generally split with 37% supporting Spanberger to 35% for Earle-Sears. Partisans have started to line up behind their respective candidates with Spanberger receiving 95% support among Democrats and Earle-Sears getting support from 87% of Republicans. Spanberger does well among women (47% to 34%), younger voters (42% to 35%), and college educated voters (51% to 32%), while Earle-Sears does better among male voters (44% to 42%), and those without college degrees (44% to 39%). “
  • “53% of Virginians approve of the job Governor Youngkin is doing“
  • “A majority of Virginians support amending the state’s constitution to guarantee reproductive rights in the state, such as access to abortion and contraception (61%) and to allow felons that have completed their prison sentence to have their voting rights automatically restored upon release (63%).  (This helps explain why Virginia Republicans don’t want to let voters decide on these amendments, because it’s almost certain they’ll pass.)
  • “Regarding the budget surplus, a plurality of Virginians say it should go primarily towards government services (46%). 40% say it should go towards a one-time tax rebate for individuals, with the remainder going toward government services, and 11% say it should go primarily towards long-term individual and corporate tax cuts.” (Youngkin is in the 11% category?)
  • “When it comes to data centers, Virginians support laws that would prohibit locating them within a mile of a national park, state park, or historically significant site (67% to 27%), requiring data center companies that receive state tax incentives to improve energy efficiency and reduce their energy consumption during peak demand (77% to 16%). A plurality supports the removal of state tax incentives used to encourage the building of data centers in the state (48% to 39%), while a majority oppose expanding state and local tax incentives to encourage more data centers (57% to 34%).”
  • “Virginians support a law that would require K-12 schools to have a cell phone usage policy but would allow localities to set their own specific rules about usage (75% support/strongly support).”



2H24 Fundraising Totals for Virginia Statewide, Other Offices

By
lowkell
-
8

Courtesy of VPAP, see below for the latest fundraising totals for the second half of 2024 – and cash on hand (as of 12/31/24) – for Virginia 2025 statewide and other candidates.

GOVERNOR:

  • Democrat Abigail Spanberger reported receipts of $2,501,153 from 7/1 to 12/31, of which just $90k came from her own congressional campaign account; expenditures of $1,312,478; and cash-on-hand of $6,551,836 as of 12/31/24.
  • Republican Winsome Sears reported receipts of $2,563,085 from 9/4 to 12/31, of which a whopping $900k came from her own PAC; expenditures of $451,569; and cash-on-hand of $2,111,516 as of 12/31/24 . Also, Sears’ Winsome PAC raised $385,719 from 10/8 to 12/31 and had $415,603 cash-on-hand as of 12/31/24.

LT. GOVERNOR

  • Democrat Ghazala Hashmi reported receipts of $553,335 from 7/1 to 12/31; expenditures of $181,257; and cash-on-hand of $546,748 as of 12/31/24. Hashmi also raised $144,527 in her State Senate account and had $6,466 in cash-on-hand there.
  • Democrat Babur Lateef reported receipts of $216,304 from 7/1 to 12/31; expenditures of $198,938 and cash-on-hand of $280,342 as of 12/31/24.
  • Democrat Aaron Rouse reported receipts of $335,130 from 7/1 to 12/31, expenditures of $81,274; and cash-on-hand of $665,551 as of 12/31/24.
  • Democrat Victor Salgado reported receipts of $78,710 from 7/1 to 12/31, expenditures of $373; and cash-on-hand of $78,336 as of 12/31/24.
  • Democrat Levar Stoney reported receipts of $184,731 from 7/1 to 12/31; expenditures of $373,858; and cash-on-hand of $513,831 as of 12/31/24.
  • Republican Pat Herrity reported “over $200,000 in the first week of [his] campaign, which began on January 3rd” (after the reporting period, so no report available)…
  • Republican John Curran reported receipts of $1,0645,000 from 9/25 to 12/31; expenditures of $474; and cash-on-hand of $1,000,170 as of 12/31/24.

ATTORNEY GENERAL

  • Democrat Jay Jones reported receipts of $878,036 from 8/28 to 12/31 (of which, $275k were from Virginians for Jay Jones and $250k from Clean Virginia); expenditures of $92,588; and cash-on-hand of $785,447 as of 12/31/24. Jones Meet Our Moment PAC didn’t raise any money from 10/8 to 12/31, had $9,395 cash-on-hand as of 12/31/24.
  • Democrat Shannon Taylor reported receipts of $184,108 (of which $25k was from Dominion Energy) from 7/1 to 12/31; expenditures of $117,293; and cash-on-hand of $359,527 as of 12/31/24.
  • Republican Jason Miyares reported “amount raised” of $1,399,697 from 7/1 to 12/31; and cash-on-hand of $1,278,143 as of 12/31/24. Also, Miyares’ A Safer Virginia PAC raised $202,374 from 10/8 to 12/31 and had $2,723,393 cash-on-hand as of 12/31/24.

HOUSE OF DELEGATES

  • Speaker Don Scott raised $1,183,491 from 7/1 to 12/31, had expenses of $151,309 and cash-on-hand of $1,825,207 as of 12/31/24. Also, Speaker Scott’s Virginia Future Generations PAC raised $259,750 from 10/8 to 12/31 and had $723,698 in cash-on-hand as of 12/31/24.
  • House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert raised $479,979 from 7/1 to 12/31, had $547,484 cash-on-hand as of 12/31/24. Also, Gilbert’s Republican Commonwealth Leadership PAC raised $154,721 from 10/8 to 12/31 and had $804,881 cash-on-hand as of 12/31/24.

STATE SENATE

  • Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D) raised $597,787 from 7/1 to 12/31, spent $265,733 and had $612,502 cash-on-hand as of 12/31/24.
  • Senate Republican Leader Ryan McDougle raised $239,509 from 7/1 to 12/31, spent $99,026 and had $403,070 cash-on-hand as of 12/31/24. Also, McDougle’s Reagan Majority for Virginia PAC raised $80k (almost all from Dominion Energy) and had cash-on-hand of $319,559 as of 12/31/24.

Thursday News: “Climate ‘whiplash’ events increasing exponentially around world”; “After the Gaza ceasefire, getting serious about peace”; “Biden Issues Dire Warning In His Farewell Speech To America”; “Meta’s pivot to the right sparks boycotts and a user exodus”

By
lowkell
-
12

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, January 16.

Virginia’s Congressional Democrats Applaud the Biden Administration for Having “worked tirelessly to reach this [Israel-Gaza ceasefire] agreement”

By
lowkell
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6

See below for reactions by Virginia’s Congressional Democrats to the announcement today of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. I agree strongly with Sen. Mark Warner – as well as Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA08), Gerry Connoly (D-VA11) and Bobby Scott (D-VA03) in “applaud [ing] the President and his administration, who worked tirelessly to reach this agreement”. I also am with Sen. Warner in being “both heartened to see an end in sight for a painful war that has torn apart families and leveled entire communities, and solemn in remembrance of the lives taken on October 7 and all those who have been killed since.” Of course, this deal won’t 100% end the war, nor will it apparently release all the hostages (not in Phase 1, anyway – hopefully in later Phases), nor will it guarantee a long-term solution to this nightmare – or to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict more broadly. Still, it’s a step forward after a horrible 15 months, and we should definitely thank the Biden admininstration for keeping at it in an almost impossible situation, despite getting basically zero political credit (to the contrary!) for doing so…

STATEMENT OF U.S. SEN. MARK R. WARNER

~ On the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas ~ 

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, released the statement below following the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. 

“This ceasefire announcement will reunite families with their loves ones by securing the release of innocent Israelis, Americans, and other individuals who were abducted by Hamas in their brutal October 7 terror attacks and have continued to be held for more than 460 days. It will also bring sorely needed respite to civilians in Gaza who have been suffering for too long in the face of extreme hunger, death, and widespread destruction. I applaud the President and his administration, who worked tirelessly to reach this agreement, and officials from Qatar and Egypt for bringing this to fruition. Like so many people around the world, I am both heartened to see an end in sight for a painful war that has torn apart families and leveled entire communities, and solemn in remembrance of the lives taken on October 7 and all those who have been killed since. I remain committed to working with the incoming administration to ensure that the terms of this agreement are met on both sides and that humanitarian assistance can make its way to the Palestinian people as outlined in the deal.”

******************

KAINE STATEMENT ON CEASEFIRE BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMAS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement after a hostage return and ceasefire deal was reached to end the war between Israel and Hamas, pausing the conflict which started after Hamas’ horrific terrorist attack in Israel on October 7, 2023:

“I’m grateful for the Biden Administration’s tireless efforts to negotiate a deal—which I have long called for—to reunite hostage families and flood Gaza with desperately-needed humanitarian assistance. This agreement marks an important step toward a lasting peace. It is in the best interest of hostage families, the Israeli and Palestinian people, and U.S. civilians and military personnel throughout the region that we continue to build on this progress. That will mean additional steps to prevent further regional escalation by Houthis, Hezbollah, and other proxy actors, provide all Palestinians with the opportunity to go back home in Gaza and the West Bank, and chart a path that leads to what was promised to Israelis and Palestinians more than 75 years ago: two states living peacefully as neighbors.”

Kaine has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and hostage release deal. He strongly supports Israel’s right to defend itself and condemned Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack. He has also pushed for more humanitarian aid in Gaza, called for an end to violence against innocent civilians, and has been a leading voice in Congress in urging that U.S. weapons transfers to Israel be comprised primarily of defensive weapons.

Sen. Tim Kaine: “While we do not agree on everything, I’m proud to support [Marco Rubio’s] nomination” as Secretary of State

By
lowkell
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4

Personally, I can’t stand Marco Rubio, but his confirmation is 100% guaranteed, and he’s one of the least-horrible Trump nominees, so it makes sense for Sen. Tim Kaine to support him. But no, Rubio’s not good, just not completely unqualified and disastrous a pick as Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, Kash Patel, etc. Low bar, in other words. Also, see below for video of Sen. Kaine’s questioning of Sen. Rubio today, and note that it was FAAAAR different (much friendlier, easier) than his questioning of the appallingly bad Pete Hegseth yesterday.

KAINE STATEMENT ON NOMINATION OF MARCO RUBIO AS SECRETARY OF STATE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement on the nomination of Marco Rubio as Secretary of State: 

“Marco Rubio and I have served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee together since I came to the Senate in 2013. While we do not agree on everything, I’m proud to support his nomination, and I believe he will make an excellent Secretary of State. He is smart, has significant foreign policy experience, and has a track record of working across the aisle to advance our national security objectives. He has also become a trusted partner to me on issues such as bolstering U.S. leadership in NATO and engaging effectively in the Western Hemisphere. I’m particularly optimistic that Marco will prioritize constructive engagement in the Americas—a region essential to U.S. economic and national security that previous Administrations of both parties have severely neglected. I urge the Senate to move swiftly to confirm him.” 

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a nomination hearing for Rubio on January 15.

During their time in the Senate, Kaine and Rubio have worked on numerous pieces of legislation, including bills to prevent any U.S. President from leaving NATO, counter oppression in Nicaragua, reunite separated Korean American families, support North Korean human rights, modernize the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Bureau, and strengthen security in the Caribbean.

Video: Sen. Mark Warner Tells Trump’s CIA Director Nominee John Ratcliffe He Must “reassure the men and women of the CIA that they need not fear reprisal for speaking truth to power”

By
lowkell
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3

The following is from Sen. Mark Warner’s office regarding his questioning this morning of Donald Trump’s nominee for CIA Director, John Ratcliffe.  Also, check out the video of Sen. Warner’s remarks, as well as Ratcliffe’s responses.

Below are Vice Chairman Warner’s opening remarks as prepared for delivery: 

Mr. Ratcliffe, congratulations on your impending nomination to serve as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. I appreciated the opportunity to meet with you last month and hear your views. 

You previously served on the House Intelligence Committee and as the Director of National Intelligence, so you obviously have an appreciation for the work done by our intelligence community, generally, and the CIA, specifically. If confirmed, I understand you will be the first person to have served as both DNI and DCIA. 

The Agency that you have been nominated to head is facing an unprecedented number of challenges, which will require great leadership.

These challenges range from the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza… competition with China, especially with respect to artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies… the persistent threat posed by international terrorist organizations… and a constant stream of cyber threats, from nation states attacking our critical infrastructure to criminal ransomware actors.

Add to this –  that revolutions in technology, especially in artificial intelligence, synthetic bio, and advances in energy – require fundamental changes to how we operate.

And through it all, the very fabric of warfare is changing. National security is no longer determined just by who has the most powerful ships and tanks and planes, but also who is leading the future when it comes to technologies like AI, drones, semiconductors, and synthetic biology.

The Intelligence Community must continue to adapt to face these challenges.  In particular, it must be better organized to collect on the development and use of advanced technologies by our adversaries. That’s both to understand the threats they might pose to U.S. economic and national security, but also to help civilian agencies identify key chokepoints over which the U.S. can exercise power.

During such times it is also vital that we are able to recruit and retain the best possible talent for the IC. That starts with ensuring the workforce feels valued and respected. I am very concerned that the president-elect has continued to engage in undeserved attacks upon the professional women and men of our intelligence agencies. 

These comments affect the morale of these dedicated men and women, many of whom risk their lives in anonymity to protect our nation… and who do so without regard to which party is in power or who holds the office of president. Unsurprisingly, particular public comments from our leaders can have a negative impact on recruitment and retention of talent willing to serve our country.

Mr. Ratcliffe, today is your opportunity to reassure the men and women of the CIA that they need not fear reprisal for speaking truth to power. I need your commitment that you will not fire or force out CIA employees because of their perceived political views, and that you will not ask these employees to place loyalty a political figure above loyalty to country.

And, I need to hear your plan for how you will reassure the CIA workforce on these points.

Also on the personnel front, I remain concerned that we continue to hear from CIA officers who have been victims of sexual assault while at work, as well as from those suffering lasting effects from anomalous health incidents. I would like to hear your plan for ensuring that those who come forward about being hurt in the line of duty are taken seriously and provided the care and attention they deserve.

Mr. Ratcliffe, if confirmed, you will be sitting at a critical intersection between intelligence and policymaking. 

Your job will be to give the president the best professional judgment of America’s intelligence experts at the CIA, even when it might be inconvenient or uncomfortable.

I need your public assurance that you will always seek to provide unbiased, unvarnished, and timely intelligence assessments to the president… to his cabinet… his advisors… and to those of us in Congress.

I need your assurance this intelligence will represent the best judgment of the CIA, regardless of political implications or views. And, though we should not need to say it out loud, I do also need your assurance you will work to appropriately protect our intelligence community’s sources and methods.

Thank you for being here. I look forward to a robust and thorough discussion.

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In his questioning of Ratcliffe, Sen. Warner tried to pin down Ratcliffe on the points he made in his opening statement. Ratcliffe mostly said words that sound (somewhat) comforting, but really didn’t commit himself to anything – whether speaking truth to power, not firing employees for political reasons, or protecting intelligence from our foreign partners.

Piedmont Environmental Council on New Virginia Data Center Legislation: “Now is the time for action. Without state oversight and increased local disclosures, we are headed for a catastrophic collision of unprecedented energy demand and a shortage of generation capacity”

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See below for a press release from the Piedmont Environmental Council, as well as a press release/fact sheet from State Senator Russet Perry and “a coalition of bipartisan legislators,” who today “unveiled a comprehensive legislative package today focused on responsible data center growth in Virginia.” Per their press release, “the reforms address critical issues, including the impact of data centers on energy infrastructure, community well-being, and environmental health.”  What this legislative package includes are “measures to promote energy-efficient operations, protect communities from adverse environmental and economic impacts, and ensure transparency in the approval and development of new data center projects.” Of course, if you’ve been following this issue closely, you know that the challenges are MASSIVE – and no, there’s no magic bullet like nuclear fusion or small modular reactors or whatever, so toss that idea aside…

General Assembly has opportunity to create a Smarter Digital Future for Virginia

Several pieces of legislation have been introduced to reform data center development and protect Virginia ratepayers

Warrenton, Va. (January 14, 2025) – The Virginia General Assembly has an urgent responsibility to address the accelerating and uncontrolled growth of data centers in the Commonwealth to mitigate the detrimental impact of data centers on Virginia’s energy grid, natural resources and communities.

Today, Senator Russet Perry, with a bipartisan group of supporting legislators, hosted a press conference to announce legislation toward meeting that responsibility.

These bills fall into four main pillars of reform the Piedmont Environmental Council is advocating for to ensure more responsible data center development:

  • Enhanced transparency: Requiring local disclosure and statewide reporting on data center energy use, water consumption and emissions.
  • State oversight: Establishing state-level regulatory review by the State Corporation Commission to evaluate regional impacts.
  • Ratepayer protection: Safeguarding Virginia’s residents and other businesses from subsidizing the billions of dollars of infrastructure data centers require.
  • Incentivization of sustainability: Connecting sales and use tax exemption for data center purchases to higher clean energy and efficiency standards.

“Now is the time for action. Without state oversight and increased local disclosures, we are headed for a catastrophic collision of unprecedented energy demand and a shortage of generation capacity,” said Chris Miller, president of the Piedmont Environmental Council. “Dominion is signing contracts for power it does not have and does not have a realistic plan for providing. Right now, our state’s leaders are playing a game of chicken with our energy grid.”

In 2024, the General Assembly failed to vote on any of 17 data center reform bills introduced. Since then, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, or JLARC, published the results of its year-long study and acknowledged the ‘unprecedented’ energy demand. The JLARC background report produced by consulting firm Energy+Environmental Economics confirms that unconstrained development of data centers could result in over 60 gigawatts (GW) of peak demand by 2050, which is nearly three times Virginia’s current peak load of 22GW. Data center development is responsible for almost all of the projected increase in the state’s energy demand.

To meet the increased demand, and Virginia’s clean energy goals, the report states that by 2050 Virginia will need to build 90GW of solar and 11GW of offshore wind, as well as a 9GW transmission expansion to connect those resources to demand. At 10,000 acres per gigawatt, that would require close to 900,000 acres of solar to power data centers alone. That acreage is the equivalent of 60 Manhattans or 681,000 football fields, and it’s a five-fold increase over what the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) requires (16.1GW), just to meet one industry’s needs.

“The forecasted numbers are existential and speak for themselves. No matter the power generation mix in the future, the interstate impacts of the scale of expansion needed to meet data center demand will have detrimental impacts on our communities, land, water, air quality and clean energy goals,” Miller said. “The legislation we’re advocating for isn’t about stopping data center development; it’s about planning, solving for, and mitigating the crisis we know is coming.”

Virginia is already home to more data centers than anywhere in the world, with 470 data centers across the state and another 150 projects in the pipeline. Unless the General Assembly takes action, Virginia will continue to sacrifice its economic and environmental future to the five wealthiest tech companies in the world. The lack of state-level oversight and transparency has created an imminent energy crisis that could stress the electric grid, cause blackouts, double or triple ratepayer bills, pollute our air and deplete our natural resources.

Our state deserves better. With the introduction of this legislation, the General Assembly can take immediate action to protect all Virginians and ensure we are building for a smarter digital future together.

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The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) works to protect and restore the lands and waters of the Virginia Piedmont, while building stronger, more sustainable communities. Founded in 1972, PEC is a locally based, community-supported 501(c)3 nonprofit and accredited land trust. At the core of PEC’s approach is a focus on educating, engaging and empowering people to effect positive change in their communities.  

 

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