Warner calls for accountability in ICE shooting, backs war powers resolution on Venezuela

Senator to vote for Kaine resolution, calls national security justification for wind project halt 'baloney'

Sen. Mark Warner called for accountability Thursday following a shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis and announced his support for a war powers resolution that would require congressional approval before the Trump administration takes further military action in Venezuela.

During a media availability from the U.S. Capitol, the Democrat, who resides in Alexandria, connected the Minneapolis incident to broader concerns about ICE’s rapid expansion under the Trump administration.

Senator Mark Warner during media availability on Thursday, January 8, 2026. (Screenshot)

“I think we’ve all seen the video. I think the officer needs to be held accountable,” Warner said. “The challenge we have is we’ve given ICE so much money. They have a budget bigger than the FBI. They have the budget bigger than frankly the French military.”

Warner said pressure from daily arrest quotas and shortened training periods for thousands of new agents may have contributed to the shooting. He noted that Virginia statistics show approximately 75 percent of people arrested by ICE had no prior criminal background.

“The whole idea that the President said we’re going after just the bad guys has not been proven at all,” he said.

When asked what accountability should look like, Warner said if the situation were reversed and a civilian had shot someone under similar circumstances, “they’d be charged.”

“I think there needs to be a thorough investigation and if criminal charges are warranted, so be it,” he said.

Venezuela and war powers

Warner, the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, announced he will vote for Sen. Tim Kaine’s war powers resolution requiring congressional approval for further military action in Venezuela.

While praising the precision of the operation that removed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Warner emphasized that “it was a military action, it was not a legal action.”

“Do we really want Donald Trump on his own with no oversight running Venezuela for a year plus without any legal constraints, without any financial constraints?” Warner asked.

The senator warned that maintaining control over Venezuela could cost billions of dollars, as U.S. naval forces must interdict Venezuelan oil exports to maintain economic pressure on the country.

Offshore wind project

Warner also criticized the Trump administration’s decision to halt Dominion’s Coastal Virginia offshore wind project, calling the stated national security concerns “baloney.”

The project, which is 65 to 70 percent complete, represents a $10 billion to $11 billion investment and was designed to power 400,000 Virginia homes.

“If you’re a Dominion customer, as I am, our money’s in that project,” Warner said. “Our ratepayer money has already gone into these costs.”

Warner said he and Kaine plan to file a court brief before a preliminary injunction hearing scheduled for next Friday.

The senator attributed the decision to Trump’s “personal dislike of windmills” stemming from aesthetics concerns at his golf course in Scotland rather than legitimate security issues.