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Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., used a remote media availability Thursday to sharply criticize the Trump administration's ongoing military campaign in Iran, warning that the conflict is deepening an energy crisis for Virginians, straining Norfolk-based Navy personnel, and rippling through the regional economy.
Warner, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the United States is on day 48 of what he called "Donald Trump's war of choice," arguing the president launched the campaign without an imminent threat and has failed to achieve any of his four stated goals, including regime change and securing Iran's enriched uranium.
"$4 gas is not going to go away even if the president declares victory tomorrow," Warner said, citing diesel prices reaching $7 a gallon in parts of the country and rising costs for aluminum, fertilizer and shipping. He said inflation, which topped 3% on a one-month basis in the most recent reading, could persist "for months to come, potentially years to come."
Warner took particular aim at the strain on Virginia-based service members aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford, which he said has now set the record for the longest carrier deployment in modern Navy history. The Norfolk-based aircraft carrier was initially dispatched to the Mediterranean before being rerouted to Venezuela and ultimately to the Iran combat zone, he said. Warner noted that a major fire aboard the ship left sailors wounded and hundreds without bunks, and that the carrier is currently in Cyprus. Support vessels that escorted the Ford out of Norfolk also remain in the combat zone, he said.
"We are putting such a strain on our service members," Warner said. "They have performed. Our military is. No one is even close to us. World class. But even world class, you put people under enormous strain."
He criticized the administration for lifting sanctions on Russian oil — a move he estimated has funneled at least $10 billion to Vladimir Putin's war effort — and on Iranian oil at sea, which he said generated roughly $14 billion for the Iranian regime. He also faulted the administration for declining a Ukrainian offer to share drone interception technology developed during Kyiv's war with Russia.
Fairfax deaths
Warner opened the call by addressing the deaths of former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, who Fairfax County police said Thursday died in an apparent murder-suicide at their Annandale home. Authorities said Justin Fairfax killed his wife before killing himself. The couple's son called 911 shortly after midnight, and the couple's two teenage children were home at the time, police said. The Fairfaxes were going through a divorce, according to police and court filings.
"It's a huge tragedy. I worked with Justin for years. He was a bright young man and it's just awful," Warner said. Fairfax served as co-chair of Warner's 2014 reelection campaign. Warner said his understanding was that the Fairfaxes were going through a divorce, a detail he said he had not previously known. He praised Fairfax's post-political work with young people, including sponsoring a basketball team he believed was from the Hampton Roads area and helping finance a trip to Africa so the students could learn about their heritage.
"It's an enormous tragedy," Warner said. "Not only for his family, but I know, for the many, many, many Virginians who care deeply about him."
Fairfax, 47, briefly appeared poised to become Virginia's second Black governor in 2019 before sexual assault allegations from two women derailed his political career. He denied the allegations and was never charged. He lost a bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2021.
If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org
Virginia Tech anniversary and gun legislation
Warner said he and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., are reintroducing the Virginia Plan to Reduce Gun Violence Act ahead of the 19th anniversary of the mass shooting at Virginia Tech that killed 32 people. State and local flags are flying at half-staff Thursday at the direction of Gov. Abigail Spanberger to mark the anniversary.
The bill would adopt at the federal level gun violence prevention measures already in place in Virginia, including the state's one-gun-a-month law, closing the so-called boyfriend loophole and requirements to keep firearms safely locked away from minors.
"These are sensible laws that have been passed in Virginia that I'd like to see passed at the national level," he said, while acknowledging that passage at the federal level remains uncertain given ongoing debates over the Second Amendment.
Federal Reserve independence
Ahead of next week's Senate Banking Committee hearing on Kevin Warsh's nomination to chair the Federal Reserve, Warner said Warsh would face tough scrutiny over whether he could maintain the central bank's independence. Warner said he had met with the nominee and found him intelligent, but questioned "what kind of promises he had to make to secure the president's nomination."
"Getting rid of the independence of the Fed at this point would be a disaster. Let me underline that. A disaster for our economy," Warner said, crediting current Fed Chair Jerome Powell with maintaining the confidence of global markets despite repeated threats of firing from President Trump.
Government shutdown and ICE
Asked about the ongoing partial government shutdown, now past 60 days, Warner said the Senate had passed a funding solution 100-0 that would fund the Department of Homeland Security, including Customs, but not Immigration and Customs Enforcement, pending reforms. He said more than 75% of people detained by ICE in Virginia had no other criminal record and called for the agency to operate under rules similar to those governing Virginia State Police and Fairfax County police, which he said do not permit officers to mask their identities.
Warner said he was increasingly concerned about security preparations for major upcoming events in the D.C. region, including the World Cup and the nation's 250th anniversary celebration.
LIHEAP cuts, D.C. changes
Warner also criticized proposed cuts to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, calling them "mean spirited and wrong" at a time when energy prices are climbing. He advocated for accelerating development of small modular nuclear reactors, particularly to power regional data centers without straining the grid.
On the administration's reshaping of the nation's capital, Warner said veterans groups are suing over Trump's proposed triumphal arch on the Virginia side of the Potomac River, which he said would block views of Arlington National Cemetery from the Lincoln Memorial. He also criticized the demolition of the White House East Wing to build a ballroom, noting that dirt from the project has been piled on East Potomac Park Golf Course.
"The president doesn't own the White House. He is a part-time occupant of the president's house. It's not his house. It is the people's house," Warner said.
