Power, Prices, and Pulte

Hey folks. Here’s a message from my team on my work this week. Enjoy the weekend. – MRW

Happy Friday from the Warner press office. With Republicans forcing passage on ICE and CBP funding in an 18-hour vote-a-rama, Trump appointing Bill Pulte – the unqualified and unserious director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency – to be Director of National Intelligence, legislation to ensure Virginians aren’t stuck footing the bill for data centers, and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services pausing immigration decisions… Sen. Warner had a VERY BUSY week. Let’s get into it.

IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES

In the Senate, most bills need 60 votes to pass. But using budget reconciliation – a parliamentary maneuver that allows certain legislation to pass with a simple majority – Republicans were able to ram through their partisan immigration megabill, over the objections of Sen. Warner and his fellow Democrats. After a marathon 18-hour vote-a-rama that stretched into the early morning hours, Senate Republicans approved an additional $70 billion in taxpayer funding for Trump’s ICE and CBP.

While Americans are struggling under the rising cost of gas, utilities, groceries, and housing… Trump and Republicans prioritized sending funds to immigration agencies that took over American cities, refused any accountability following the tragic deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and are now wreaking havoc at Delaney Hall in New Jersey.

And this comes less than a year after Republicans already provided these agencies with funding levels that exceeded those of any other domestic law enforcement agency and rivaled the budgets of most militaries around the world. They did so despite the fact that ICE and CBP are already sitting on roughly $100 billion in previously appropriated, unspent funds from the last time Republicans passed a partisan megabill using the reconciliation gambit.

Watch Sens. Warner and Warnock break down the ridiculousness of handing ICE and CBP essentially limitless funds here.

With all the chaos that Trump’s immigration agencies have caused, Democrats were fighting for 10 commonsense guardrails that would protect Americans and hold ICE and CBP to the same standard as other law enforcement agencies. Their proposals were simple, including: prohibiting officers from wearing face coverings, requiring them to display identification, and requiring the use of body-warn cameras when interacting with the public. Measures that would be standard for virtually any other law enforcement agency were apparently a bridge too far for Senate Republicans.

While this megabill that does nothing to lower prices may have been forced through without any Democratic support, Sen. Warner will continue fighting Trump’s senseless policies and working to bring down costs for American families.

Here’s what Sens. Warner and Kaine had to say after the vote:

“At a time when millions of Americans are struggling to deal with rising costs generated by Donald Trump’s disastrous Iran war and his chaotic tariff taxes, what do Republican Senators do? They pass a bill giving $70 billion to immigration agencies sitting on $100 billion in unspent funds from last year. The bill passed today does nothing to bring down costs for everyday American families, nothing to reform the Administration’s out-of-control immigration agenda that has led to the harassment and murder of American citizens, nothing to keep the President from funneling money to political cronies or vanity projects like his ballroom, and nothing to end an unpopular and illegal war that is costing Americans tens of billions at the gas pump. Democratic efforts to redirect the $70 billion to reduce housing and health care costs were blocked by the GOP majority, and efforts to include basic immigration reforms were blocked as well. It’s shocking that the Trump-Vance agenda is so out of touch with the needs of American citizens.”

SPYING A PROBLEM

Imagine you’re hiring someone to run the nation’s intelligence agencies. You might look for someone with military experience. Or intelligence experience. Or diplomatic experience. Maybe even law enforcement experience.

President Trump apparently had a different idea.

This week, Trump announced that Bill Pulte – the 38-year-oild, third-generation rich kid who heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency – will also serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence. That’s the official responsible for overseeing America’s intelligence agencies and some of the government’s most sensitive classified information.

There’s at least one big problem, though: Bill Pulte has absolutely no national security experience. As Sen. Warner pointed out during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing this week, the position was created after the September 11 attacks and Congress specifically required that the job be filled by someone with “extensive national security experience.” By that standard, Pulte comes up short. Very short.

“No time in the military. No time in Congress. No time in the diplomatic corps. No time in law enforcement,” Sen. Warner said. “Mr. Pulte has none of that. Zero.”

So why was he chosen? It apparently has less to do with qualifications… and more to do with loyalty to Donald Trump. As head of FHFA, Pulte didn’t exactly spend all his time worrying about mortgages or housing affordability. Instead, he became one of the administration’s most enthusiastic participants in Trump’s campaign of political retribution, using his access to confidential mortgage information to instigate a series of fraud referrals against a string of the president’s perceived political opponents, including Sen. Adam Schiff, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, and New York Attorney General Tisch James.

And if you’re wondering what Trump now expects from his new DNI, he didn’t exactly hide the ball. When asked why he picked a housing official with no intelligence experience to serve as the nation’s top intelligence officer – with limitless access to some of our nation’s most important classified secrets – Trump said Pulte might help uncover evidence of the “rigged elections” the president continues to falsely claim were stolen from him. That’s a troubling answer less than six months before the next election, considering that the DNI plays a central role in coordinating intelligence efforts related to election security and foreign interference.

“What qualifications does Mr. Pulte bring to the office?” Warner asked this week. “He has shown that he is willing to do anything that President Trump wants, legal or otherwise.”

That’s a pretty alarming quality to prioritize in the person responsible for delivering independent intelligence assessments to the president, Congress, and the American people. After watching Pulte use one government agency to pursue Trump’s perceived political opponents, Sen. Warner is understandably concerned about what happens when he gains authority over the nation’s intelligence apparatus. At a time when the United States is facing threats from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and terrorist organizations around the world, intelligence agencies need leaders who will follow the facts wherever they lead – not carry out political grievances for our president.

Sen. Warner is using every tool at his disposal as the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee to oppose this appointment and continue fighting to protect the independence of the Intelligence Community.

SEN. WARNER MAKES A POWER PLAY

As AI continues to expand, Big Tech companies are racing to build massive new data centers – and nowhere has that boom been bigger than Virginia. The Commonwealth is now home to more than 600 data centers, making it the undisputed data center capital of the world.

Those facilities may power the internet, but they also consume enormous amounts of electricity. And as more and more of them connect to the power grid, working families are increasingly being asked to help cover the costs. That’s because utility companies often pass along the expense of new infrastructure to ratepayers. Meanwhile, the surge in electricity demand from data centers is putting additional strain on the grid, driving up energy costs and increasing concerns about reliability.

In other words, some of the world’s wealthiest corporations are making billions from AI while families get stuck with higher electric bills. Sen. Warner doesn’t think that’s a very good deal.

That’s why he’s backing the Power for the People Act, legislation designed to ensure data center developers – not everyday consumers – pay the costs associated with bringing their projects online. The bill would help prevent families from subsidizing data center development through their utility bills and establish safeguards to ensure new facilities aren’t overwhelming the power grid.

Here’s what Sen. Warner had to say about the bill:

“From the expansion of data centers to the administration’s senseless tariffs to Trump’s war of choice in Iran, Virginia families are being crushed by rising energy costs. Virginia is the data center capital of the world, and new data center proposals are popping up all the time across the Commonwealth. If corporations are going to run data centers in Virginia, they should cover the cost of them. I’m proud to support the Power for the People Act to ensure that huge corporations are not pawning off costs to working Americans.”

This bill won’t solve all of the problems tied to the explosive growth in the number of data centers, but Sen. Warner believes it’s an important first step toward making sure the companies profiting from this technology help pay their fair share – and that Virginia families aren’t left holding the bag.

CASE CLOSED (NOT REALLY)

Imagine following every step of the legal immigration process – paperwork, interviews, background checks – only to find out, without warning, that your case has simply stopped moving. That’s what’s happening right now for thousands of people across the country.

The Trump administration recently paused or slowed a wide range of immigration and citizenship decisions for individuals from 39 countries, based on national origin. The agency has also ordered a sweeping re-review of some previously approved cases dating back several years – all without meaningful consultation with Congress or even communicating clearly to the thousands of legal immigrants whose whole lives have now been upended.

This week, Sen. Warner demanded answers. In a letter to administration officials, Sen. Warner warned that families are seeing naturalization interviews canceled and green card applications stalled. Workers who are waiting for routine renewals are losing work authorization through no fault of their own, forcing some out of their jobs and creating headaches for employers who depend on them. Others are seeing travel plans disrupted as immigration paperwork sits in limbo.

And every day the pause continues, the already massive immigration backlog gets even bigger.

In a letter with his colleagues, Sen. Warner wrote,

“Our offices are hearing from constituents whose naturalization interviews have been canceled, whose green card applications have stalled, and whose employment authorization documents have lapsed while awaiting renewal. These lapses in work authorization are forcing individuals out of jobs, threatening their families’ financial stability, and creating losses for employers who depend on their contributions.”

The letter also raises concerns about a broader shift in policy, including new guidance suggesting national origin may be treated as a negative factor in immigration adjudications, as well as reported changes that would force certain applicants to leave the United States to complete their green card process abroad – breaking with decades of established practice. Taken together, Sen. Warner argues these changes create confusion, undermine due process, and risk grinding an already backlogged immigration system to a halt – all without clear rules or transparency from the agency.

He is pressing the Trump administration for immediate answers on how many people are affected, how long the pause will last, and what steps are being taken to prevent further harm to families and employers.

GRAB BAG

LATE TO THE PARTY: Sen. Warner blasted Trump’s AI Executive Order for rehashing AI proposals Sen. Warner has long been working on getting done in the Senate.

MEET YOUR NEW BANKER, AI: Sen. Warner sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, right before he appeared in front of the Committee on Finance, encouraging the Treasury Department to better understand develop rules surround agentic AI usage across the financial services sector.

WE NEED YOU: Sen. Warner, alongside the entire Virginia congressional delegation, is collecting photographs that represent the many treasures Virginia has to offer in 2026 to be considered for the Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule.

🐔: Sen. Warner joined legislation allowing SNAP participants to purchase hot rotisserie chicken with their benefits.

CISA & CYBERATTACKS, OH MY: Sen. Warner is introducing the Guaranteeing Universal Access to Cybersecurity Act to fund a critical cyber sharing information program so that thousands of state, local, territorial, Tribal organizations, and communities have access to the cybersecurity resources they need to keep critical infrastructure safe. He also sent a letter to DHS Secretary Mullin urging him to help governors defend our country from cyberattacks.

AI ON ALL FRONTS: Sen. Warner walked through what he’s doing to prevent AI job displacement and prevent skyrocketing power bills. Watch his full video here.

THE WEEK AHEAD

This weekend, catch Sen. Warner on Fox News Sunday, ABC’s This Week, and CNN’s State of the Union. The Senate will be in session again next week and is expected to debate a wiretapping law known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows U.S. intelligence agencies to conduct surveillance on targets like terrorists and foreign intelligence services located outside the United States.

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