Let's crush those Canadian tariffs, eh?

Hey folks. A note from my team on my work this week. Enjoy the weekend. – MRW

Happy Friday from the Warner press office! It was another busy week for Sen. Warner on two of his key priorities – lowering costs and protecting our democracy. On the former, he continued his fight against Trump’s cost-spiking tariffs and also passed his law to curb mistaken payments to deceased Americans. On the latter, he continued to raise the alarm about the attacks on our elections.

Without further ado, let’s get into it:

FULTON FOIBLES

On Jan. 6, 2021, thousands of rioters descended on the Capitol intending to overturn the results of a free, fair, and secure election. Some of these rioters were armed with guns, tasers, and knives. They injured 174 members of law enforcement. Officer Brian Sicknick collapsed during his defense of the Capitol and died shortly thereafter. Over the next several months, four additional police officers present that day would die by suicide.

It was unquestionably one of the darkest days of our entire 250 years of democracy… and it was egged on by Trump and a gang of loyalists who worked for months to cast doubt on the results of the election.

One of those men was Kurt Olsen, a man who has been working for years to cast doubt on the results of the 2020 election, despite the fact that countless nonpartisan audits and investigations have turned up no proof that the election was stolen.

This week, news came to light that Olsen was the mastermind behind the Fulton County FBI raid… making clear what Sen. Warner has been saying for months… there was never any foreign intelligence nexus. This whole thing is clearly about cooking up more fraud allegations about a free, fair, and settled election in order to justify future meddling in our elections.

After this new information came to light, Sen. Warner said,

“The newly unsealed affidavit shows this search originated from the frivolous claims of Kurt Olsen, an attorney who traffics in debunked falsehoods about the 2020 election. It also makes clear there was no foreign intelligence nexus.

“So why was the Director of National Intelligence there?

“When the nation’s top intelligence official inserts herself into a matter with no connection to a foreign threat, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that the objective was political – namely, getting back into Donald Trump’s good graces – and that her presence was meant to lay the groundwork for baseless claims of foreign interference. Americans should be deeply concerned about what someone with sweeping authority over the country’s intelligence apparatus might do to achieve that.”

Sen. Warner is not going to stop pushing for transparency… so he also called on Director Gabbard to immediately brief senators on election security concerns before the midterms. Alongside Sen. Alex Padilla, (D-CA), he wrote:

“You should come prepared to clarify your public statements regarding voting system security and the status of ODNI’s highly unusual investigations regarding purported election integrity. You, the President, and others have offered conflicting explanations of your participation in the FBI’s raid of the Fulton County, Georgia election offices and seizure of materials related to the 2020 election, and your response to date has raised additional questions.”

With nothing less than the integrity of the midterm elections on the line, Sen. Warner remains very engaged in countering this threat and keeping our elections safe from Trump’s interference. You can rest assured we will keep you updated.

A TAXING TIME

It bears repeating: Donald Trump ran on lowering costs, then proceeded to break the law (Supreme Court case pending) to force a huge cost-spiking tax onto all Americans. It’s insulting and damaging, and it hurts all of our bank accounts. Estimates suggest that Americans – not foreign companies – pay 96% of the cost of the tariffs.

Beyond the immediate economic impact for all of us, Trump’s tariffs have also upended the global world order and driven our closest allies straight into the open arms of the Chinese Communist Party. Following our crushing tariffs on Canada, their Prime Minister cut a trade deal with the CCP, saying they were morereliable partners than America. Then he gave a historic and brutal speech alluding to Donald Trump “rupturing” the world order.

Sen. Warner has been fighting these tariffs for months. Last year, he welcomed Virginian small business owners to the Capitol to talk about the impact these tariffs were having on their small businesses. Then, he joined with Sen. Kaine and others to pass a resolution that would overturn Trump’s tariffs on Canada and get us back on track to restoring this critical relationship and lowering costs for Americans.

This was a major moment to counter Trump, as Sen. Warner and his allies finally convinced a few Republicans to publicly stand up and rebuke the President’s disastrous policies. For months, Speaker Johnson has been using a procedural measure to keep these tariff votes off the calendar… but this week, a few Republicans said enough is enough, smashed the procedural hurdle, and then voted to cancel the Canadian tariffs, too.

This is a massive moment for pushing to lower costs for Americans. After the vote, Sen. Warner said,

“It is unacceptable that Virginians and businesses across the Commonwealth are paying the price for Trump’s misguided trade war with Canada. It is Congress’s responsibility to intervene and put an end to the President’s reckless policies that are inflating costs for working families and destroying the U.S.’s bilateral relationship with one of our closest allies and trading partners. I am glad the House has broken Speaker Johnson’s blockade and joined the Senate in voting to remove these tariffs on Canada.”

While Trump would likely veto any tariff-crushing legislation that comes to his desk, this is still a positive step forward toward showing Trump no longer holds absolute power over the Republican Party. Sen. Warner will keep working to lower costs and protect your paycheck from Trump’s taxes.

PROTECTING TAXPAYERS FROM FRAUD AND ABUSE

Earlier this week, another Sen. Warner effort to save Virginia taxpayers’ money came to fruition. As costs continue to rise under the Trump administration, Sen. Warner has prioritized lowering the price of groceries, energy, health care, and more for working families.

The Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, legislation to save hard-earned taxpayer money by curbing erroneous payments to individuals who have passed away, was signed into law!

Sen. Warner said, “I’m thrilled to see this bipartisan, commonsense bill become law. As working families struggle to afford the cost of living, those of us elected to represent them should be doing everything in our power to save taxpayer dollars and protect government resources from fraud and abuse. I will continue working to improve efficiency and ensure that our government is working for all Americans.”

Specifically, this bipartisan law permanently amends the Social Security Act to allow the Social Security Administration to share the Death Master File – a record of deceased individuals – with the Treasury Department’s Do Not Pay system. The change will help agencies better identify and stop improper payments before they go out. The law also authorizes the Treasury to compare SSA death data with information held by other federal entities and share relevant matches with any paying or administering agency authorized to use the Do Not Pay system.

Read more about the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act here.

GRAB BAG

AIR SAFETY: This week, Sen. Warner applauded the Commerce Committee on passing a law that directs the FAA to establish an independent expert review panel to make recommendations for a comprehensive, integrated and effective FAA safety management system (SMS) to better predict, manage and mitigate safety risks across the agency.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY: Sen. Warner joined his colleagues in introducing the Fiscal Harms of Federal Firings Act, legislation that would direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a comprehensive study of the financial impacts of the Trump administration’s mass firings on state and local governments.

CYBER THREATS: Sen. Warner sent a letter to Howard Lutnick, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, raising concerns about reports that the Trump administration dismissed or forced out senior national security officials responsible for countering China’s intelligence and cyber attacks against American technology and communication systems.

KEEPING IT COMPETITIVE: Sen. Warner joined colleagues to introduce the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act, bicameral legislation that would provide federal employees with a 4.1 percent pay increase in 2027.

WEST BANK: Sen. Warner issued a statement ahead of President Trump’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

THE WEEK AHEAD

The Senate will be in recess next week.

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