WASHINGTON – Today, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee Jack Reed (D-RI), and Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Chris Coons (D-DE), led their committee colleagues in a letter to President Trump regarding the firing of the Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and Commander of U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM), General Timothy Haugh, as well as the reassignment of the Deputy Director of the NSA, Wendy Noble.

Joining Vice Chairman Warner and Ranking Members Reed and Coons in this letter are Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Gary Peters (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Chris Murphy (D-CT).

“These actions severely compromise our ability to keep Americans safe. As you are well aware, our nation currently faces serious cyber threats from foreign adversaries, such as from China’s Salt Typhoon, with near-daily attacks against our critical infrastructure,” the senators wrote. “In addition, our nation’s military is engaged in ongoing operations against multiple threats, from the Houthis in Yemen to Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. Given the dangers facing the United States, it is inexplicable that the Administration would remove the senior leaders of NSA/CYBERCOM without cause or warning, and risk disrupting critical ongoing intelligence operations.”

The senators also highlighted the impact this move would have on the dual-hat arrangement, in which a single officer leads both the NSA and CYBERCOM, and stressed that prematurely severing this agreement could put U.S. national security at risk.

They continued, “Premature termination of the dual-hat arrangement would severely degrade the speed and effectiveness of NSA’s and CYBERCOM’s abilities to execute their missions and could have dire consequence for our national security. As Congress on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis has repeatedly made clear in the National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal Years 2017, 2018, and 2020, clear criteria must be met before any termination can be considered and both the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs must together certify that separation will not “pose risks to the military effectiveness of the United States Cyber Command that are unacceptable to the national security interests of the United States.”

As members of the key committees tasked with conducting oversight over NSA, the senators requested written justification for why Director Timothy Haugh and Ms. Wendy Noble were removed from their posts, and asked for a Congressional briefing regarding any additional actions the administration plans to take with respect to NSA and CYBERCOM, including but not limited to the separation of the dual-hat.

A copy of letter is available here and text is below.

Dear President Trump,

We write with alarm at the sudden and inexplicable firing of the Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and Commander, U.S. Cyber Command, General Timothy Haugh, as well as the reassignment of the Deputy Director of the NSA, Wendy Noble. Not only have both dutifully served this nation for decades under both Democratic and Republican administrations, but their removals were conducted in the middle of the night with no consultation with Congress and, according to reports, at the behest of a private citizen who has a record of promoting conspiracy theories.

These actions severely compromise our ability to keep Americans safe. As you are well aware, our nation currently faces serious cyber threats from foreign adversaries, such as from China’s Salt Typhoon, with near-daily attacks against our critical infrastructure. In addition, our nation’s military is engaged in ongoing operations against multiple threats, from the Houthis in Yemen to Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. Given the dangers facing the United States, it is inexplicable that the Administration would remove the senior leaders of NSA/CYBERCOM without cause or warning, and risk disrupting critical ongoing intelligence operations.

Furthermore, we urge you to exercise careful consideration and consultation with Congress on any further actions that may impact NSA’s or CYBERCOM’s abilities to provide the critical intelligence and operational support to policymakers and warfighters. This includes, but is not limited to, any considerations to terminate the dual-hat arrangement. Premature termination of the dual-hat arrangement would severely degrade the speed and effectiveness of NSA’s and CYBERCOM’s abilities to execute their missions and could have dire consequence for our national security. As Congress on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis has repeatedly made clear in the National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal Years 2017, 2018, and 2020, clear criteria must be met before any termination can be considered and both the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs must together certify that separation will not “pose risks to the military effectiveness of the United States Cyber Command that are unacceptable to the national security interests of the United States.”

As Members of the respective committees of oversight, we request that you formally provide in writing a justification for why Director Timothy Haugh and Ms. Wendy Noble were removed from their posts and provide a briefing to Congress on any additional actions you plan to take with respect to NSA and CYBERCOM, including but not limited to the separation of the dual-hat.

Sincerely,

###

WASHINGTON – Today, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Mark R. Warner (D-VA) wrote Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel requesting he confirm that the FBI will open an investigation into the Signal group chat that senior Trump administration officials used to discuss classified information, including information revealing that the United States was preparing to conduct airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

“Department of Defense policies dictate that information concerning military plans, such as contained in the messages sent by the Secretary of Defense, is classified, and no reasonable process would allow for communication of this information over a commercial messaging application before U.S. pilots had completed and safely returned from their mission,” Sen. Warner wrote.   

Director Patel, who was not part of the Signal chat, testified yesterday before Senate Intelligence Committee stating he could not provide information on this matter because he had only recently been made aware of it.

“Yesterday you testified that you could not provide information to the Committee concerning this matter because you had only recently been made aware of it,” Sen. Warner continued. “In other contexts, the FBI has acted promptly to open an investigation when information of a similar nature has been mishandled.”

Now, two days later, Sen. Warner is requesting that Director Patel clarify the actions the FBI will take to investigate this matter:

1. Will you commit to opening an investigation of this matter, if you have not already done so?
2. Will you collect the devices involved, whether government-issued or otherwise?
3. Will you scan those devices for malware or other indications of unauthorized access?

A copy of letter is available here and text is below.

Director Patel,

Between March 11th and 15th, the Secretary of Defense and other senior Trump Administration officials used a commercial messaging application to communicate information revealing that the United States was preparing to conduct airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. The messages were sent as U.S. pilots were preparing to fly U.S. military aircraft into enemy-controlled airspace defended by surface-to-air missiles in order to strike targets known to change their location. Messages sent by the Secretary of Defense not only revealed, in advance, that the U.S. was planning airstrikes in Yemen, but also disclosed details concerning the timing, sequencing, and weapons to be used.  This information could have been used by the Houthis to shoot down U.S. aircraft, thereby endangering the lives of the U.S. pilots, as well as to relocate enemy targets or otherwise disrupt the mission.

Department of Defense policies dictate that information concerning military plans, such as contained in the messages sent by the Secretary of Defense, is classified, and no reasonable process would allow for communication of this information over a commercial messaging application before U.S. pilots had completed and safely returned from their mission.  

Yesterday you testified that you could not provide information to the Committee concerning this matter because you had only recently been made aware of it.

In other contexts, the FBI has acted promptly to open an investigation when information of a similar nature has been mishandled.  As you have now had two days to consider the details of this matter, can you confirm the following:

1. Will you commit to opening an investigation of this matter, if you have not already done so?
2. Will you collect the devices involved, whether government-issued or otherwise?
3. Will you scan those devices for malware or other indications of unauthorized access?

 Sincerely,

###

BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO OF SEN. WARNER’S OPENING REMARKS IS AVAILABLE HERE

WASHINGTON – Today, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) delivered opening remarks at the Intelligence Committee’s annual Worldwide Threats Assessment hearing.

Sen. Warner’s opening remarks as delivered are below:

Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good morning, everybody, and I want to thank all the witnesses for being here.

I got to say, I've been on the committee now for 14 years, and this year's assessment is clearly one of the most complicated and challenging in my tenure on the committee.

And I want to get into that in a moment, but I want to, first of all, address the recent story that broke in the news.

Yesterday, we stunningly learned that senior members of this administration and according to reports, two of our witnesses here today, were members of a group chat that discussed highly sensitive and likely classified information that supposedly even included ‘weapons packages, targets and timing,’ and included the name of an active CIA agent.

Putting aside for a moment that classified information should never be discussed over an unclassified system, it's also just mind boggling to me that all these senior folks were on this line and nobody bothered to even check, security hygiene 101...

Who are all the names? Who are they?

Well, it apparently includes a journalist.

And no matter how much the Secretary of Defense or others want to disparage him, this journalist had at least the ethics to not report everything he heard.

The question I raise is: everybody on this committee gets briefed on security protocols. They're told you don't make calls outside of SCIFs of this kind of classified nature.

Director Gabbard is the executive in charge of all keeping our secrets safe. Were these government devices? Or were they personal devices? Have the devices been collected to make sure there's no malware?

There’s plenty of declassified information that shows that our adversaries, China and Russia, are trying to break in to encrypted systems like Signal.

I can just say this. If this was the case of a military officer, or an intelligence officer, and they had this kind of behavior, they would be fired. I think this is one more example of the kind of sloppy, careless, incompetent behavior, particularly towards classified information, that this is not a one off or a first time error.

Let me take a couple of minutes and review some of the other reckless choices that this administration has made regarding our national security. We all recall it seems like it wasn't that long ago, but less than two months ago, in the first two weeks, the administration canceled all U.S. foreign assistance.

Now, some may say, how can that how bad can that be, its foreign assistance?

Well, U.S. foreign assistance paid for the units in Ukraine to provide air defense to civilian cities being attacked by Russia.

Foreign assistance paid for guarding camps in Syria, where ISIS fighters are to be detained.

Foreign assistance paid for programs abroad that ensure that diseases like Ebola don't come home.

And until recently, it paid for the construction of a railway in Africa that would have help given the United States much needed access to critical minerals in Congo.

Now that project… China is going to try to finance it as well.

In the first two weeks, the administration fired several of our most experienced FBI agents, including the head of the criminal Investigative submission, the head of the intelligence division, the head of the Counterterrorism division, the heads of the New York, Washington and Miami field office, all individuals who were distinctly and directly responsible for helping to keep America safe.

The irony a little bit, was the recently dismissed head of the counterterrorism division was involved in disrupting the ISIS attacks planned for Oklahoma City and Philadelphia and helped lead the effort to bring to justice the key planner of the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan, who killed 13 U.S. servicemen and 150 civilians.

That very Abbey Gate effort was actually praised by the president in his state of the Union address.

The administration’s response to these agents’ good works and years of service was to force these folks out.

It's hard to imagine how that makes our country safer.

Nor can I understand how Americans are made more secure by firing more than 300 staff at the National Nuclear Security Administration, including those responsible for overseeing the security and safety of the nuclear stockpile, or by ousting 130 employees at CSA.

The agency directly responsible for trying to take on China's salt typhoon attack again. After Salt Typhoon, I would have thought folks on that group chat might have thought twice.

Or how are we made safer by sacking a thousand employees at the CDC and NIH. We're actually directly working on trying to keep our country safe from disease by pushing out hundreds of intelligence officers.

The amazing thing is our intelligence officers, they're not interchangeable like a Twitter coder. Our country makes $20,000 to $40,000 of an investment just in getting a security clearance.

It literally goes into six figures when you take the training involved. Can anyone tell how firing probationary individuals without any consideration for merit or expertise is an efficient use of taxpayer dollars?

And just to make clear that yesterday's story in the Atlantic was not this rookie one-off, it's a pattern.

I want to acknowledge Director Ratcliffe was not here in his position with this took place.

But again, earlier in the administration, when a new unclassified network was used, thereby exposing literally hundreds of CIA officers’ identities.

Those folks can't go into the field now.

How does that make our government more efficient?

You know, again, this pattern of an amazing, cavalier attitude towards classified information is reckless and sloppy.

And perhaps what troubles me most is the way the administration has decided that we can take on all of our problems by ourselves without any need for friends or allies.

I agree that we've got to put America's priorities first, but American first cannot mean America alone.

The intelligence we gather to keep Americans safe depends on a lot of allies around the world who have access to sources that we don't have.

That's sharing of information saves lives. And it's not hypothetical.

We all remember (because it was declassified) last year when Austria worked with our community to make sure to expose a plot against Taylor Swift in Vienna that could have killed literally hundreds of individuals.

However, these relationships are not built in stone. They're not dictated by law. Things like the Five Eyes are based on trust built on decades, but so often that trust is now breaking literally overnight.

Yet suddenly, for no reason that I can understand, the United States is starting to act like our adversaries are our friends. Voting in the UN with Russia, Belarus and North Korea. It's a rogues gallery if ever heard one.

Treating our allies like adversaries, whether it's threats to take over Greenland or over the Panama Canal, a destructive trade war with Canada, or literally threatening to kick Canada out of the Five Eyes, I feel our credibility is being enormously undermined with our allies, who I believe, and I think most of us on this committee, regardless of party believes, makes our country safer and stronger.

But how can our allies ever trust us as the kind of partner we used to be when we, without consultation or notice, for example, stop sharing information to Ukraine in its war for survival against Russia. Or how can our allies not only not trust our government, but potentially not our businesses with such arbitrary political decision?

Let me give you a few examples. You know, as a result of a lot of work from this committee and others in Congress, we made sure America's commercial space industry is second to none from space to launch to commercial sensing and communications.

The United States has taken a lead. Yet overnight, this administration called into question the reliability of American commercial tech industry.

When maps are and other commercial space companies were directed to stop sharing intelligence with Ukraine.

I'm going to tell you… I’m a business guy. Can't say longer than being an elected official, but pretty close. That shockwave across all of commercial space and frankly, not just commercial space. I've heard it from some of our hyperscalers, in the tech community, has sent an enormous chill.

Who's going to hire an American commercial space company, government or foreign business with the ability to have that taken down so arbitrarily?

It's not just in the case of commercial space.

We've seen that Canada, Germany, Portugal have all been saying they're rethinking buying F-35s.

I've heard from Microsoft and Google directly, and Amazon that they're having questions about whether they can still sell their services.

We've also seen foreign adversaries and friends take advantage of this RIF in our national security areas, and our scientists.

Germany has already put out ads trying to attract some of our best scientists who've been RIFed and the Chinese intelligence agencies are posting on social media sites in the hopes of luring individuals with that national security clearance who've been pushed out, perhaps arbitrarily, to come into their service.

So, no, the signal fiasco is not a one off. It is, unfortunately, a pattern we're seeing too often repeated.

I fear that we feel the erosion of trust from our workplace, from our companies, and from our allies and partners can't be put back in the bottle overnight. Make no mistake, these actions make America less safe.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

###

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) issued the statement below on the Trump tariffs that went into effect today. These 25 percent tariffs will target foreign steel and aluminum, triggering additional tariffs and retaliatory fees and hurting consumers.

“Let’s be clear, today’s action by the Trump administration to levy a 25 percent tax on the importation of all steel and aluminum into the U.S. will jack up costs for consumers and small businesses across the Commonwealth and the nation. These tariffs will significantly increase input costs for small businesses, put homeownership further out of reach for Virginians, and threaten good-paying manufacturing jobs across America. They will also endanger the Commonwealth’s greatest economic engine – the Port of Virginia – by targeting commerce and potentially threatening activity at the port. Americans don’t want a reckless and misguided trade war. I’m going to keep working to lower prices for families and fighting to ensure we don’t turn our back on our allies.”

###

WASHINGTON – Today, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement:

“The Trump administration has followed its recent ill-advised and weak decision to cut off military assistance to Ukraine by now also callously shutting off intelligence sharing with the hard-pressed Ukrainians as they continue to defend their country against the ongoing military onslaught of Vladimir Putin’s army. Instead of standing up to Putin, President Trump has given away American power to Russia – from voting at the UN with Russia and North Korea and against all of our allies, to directly negotiating with Russia at the highest levels while excluding Ukraine, to refusing to condemn Vladimir Putin’s dictatorship while unjustly calling the democratically elected Ukrainian president a ‘dictator’ and ejecting him from the White House. And, all the while, Putin has not let up on his illegal assault against Ukraine. Allied intelligence support has been crucial to enable Ukraine to defend itself from the first days of the conflict in February 2022, to unmask Russian invasion plans and intentions, and to save countless innocent lives. Let me be clear: Cutting off intelligence support to our Ukrainian partners will cost lives.”

###

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, along with Ron Wyden (D-OR), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Angus King (I-ME), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ), wrote to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles about the risks to our national security of allowing unvetted DOGE staff and representatives to access classified and sensitive government materials. The Committee members demanded that the administration provide details to Congress about how DOGE staff and representatives are being vetted, which systems, records and information are being shared, and what steps the administration is taking to safeguard them from misuse or disclosure.

“According to press reports, DOGE inspectors already have gained access to classified materials, including intelligence reports, at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), sensitive government payment systems, including for Social Security and Medicare, at the Treasury Department, and federal personnel data from the Office of Personnel Management. Further, as of today the scope of DOGE’s access only seems to be expanding, as reports indicate DOGE has now entered the Department of Labor and other agencies,” the senators wrote. “No information has been provided to Congress or the public as to who has been formally hired under DOGE, under what authority or regulations DOGE is operating, or how DOGE is vetting and monitoring its staff and representatives before providing them seemingly unfettered access to classified materials and Americans’ personal information.”

The senators added, “As you know, information is classified to protect the national security interests of the United States. Government employees and contractors only receive access to such information after they have undergone a rigorous background investigation and demonstrated a ‘need to know.’ Circumventing these requirements creates enormous counterintelligence and security risks. For example, improper access to facilities and systems containing security clearance files of Intelligence Community personnel puts at risk the safety of the men and women who serve this country. In addition, unauthorized access to classified information risks exposure of our operations and potentially compromises not only our own sources and methods, but also those of our allies and partners. If our sources, allies, and partners stop sharing intelligence because they cannot trust us to protect it, we will all be less safe.”

The senators also raised alarms about the privacy implications of allowing an unknown number of DOGE staff to access unclassified systems containing information about individual American taxpayers and organizations. 

Wrote the senators, “Unclassified government systems also contain sensitive data, the unintended disclosure of which could result in significant harm to individuals or organizations, including financial loss, identity theft, and exposure of medical and other private personal information. The U.S. Treasury payment systems, in particular, are used to disburse trillions of dollars each year, and contain everyday Americans’ personal information, such as Social Security numbers, home addresses, and bank accounts. Allowing DOGE access to this information raises unprecedented risks to Americans’ private personal and financial information.”

Finally, the senators also noted that there are strict cybersecurity controls in place for federal networks which DOGE does not seem to be following, including by reportedly connecting personal devices to sensitive government systems.

“Such unregulated practices with our government’s most sensitive networks render Americans’ personal and financial information, and our classified national secrets, vulnerable to ransomware and cyber-attacks by criminals and foreign adversaries. The recent unprecedented Salt Typhoon and Change Healthcare attacks that affected tens of millions of Americans further underscore the importance of rigorously fortifying our government systems,” the letter says. 

The full text of the letter is available here and below. 

Dear Ms. Wiles,

We write to express our grave concern with the illegal actions currently being undertaken by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which risk exposure of classified and other sensitive information that jeopardizes national security and violates Americans’ privacy. The January 20 Executive Order establishes DOGE under the Executive Office of the President with DOGE Teams established by Agency Heads within their respective agencies, and requires the Administrator of DOGE to report to the White House Chief of Staff. According to press reports, DOGE inspectors already have gained access to classified materials, including intelligence reports, at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), sensitive government payment systems, including for Social Security and Medicare, at the Treasury Department, and federal personnel data from the Office of Personnel Management. Further, as of today the scope of DOGE’s access only seems to be expanding, as reports indicate DOGE has now entered the Department of Labor and other agencies.

No information has been provided to Congress or the public as to who has been formally hired under DOGE, under what authority or regulations DOGE is operating, or how DOGE is vetting and monitoring its staff and representatives before providing them seemingly unfettered access to classified materials and Americans’ personal information.

As you know, information is classified to protect the national security interests of the United States. Government employees and contractors only receive access to such information after they have undergone a rigorous background investigation and demonstrated a “need to know.”  Circumventing these requirements creates enormous counterintelligence and security risks. For example, improper access to facilities and systems containing security clearance files of Intelligence Community personnel puts at risk the safety of the men and women who serve this country. In addition, unauthorized access to classified information risks exposure of our operations and potentially compromises not only our own sources and methods, but also those of our allies and partners. If our sources, allies, and partners stop sharing intelligence because they cannot trust us to protect it, we will all be less safe.

Unclassified government systems also contain sensitive data, the unintended disclosure of which could result in significant harm to individuals or organizations, including financial loss, identity theft, and exposure of medical and other private personal information. The U.S. Treasury payment systems, in particular, are used to disburse trillions of dollars each year, and contain everyday Americans’ personal information, such as Social Security numbers, home addresses, and bank accounts. Allowing DOGE access to this information raises unprecedented risks to Americans’ private personal and financial information.

Moreover, there are strict cybersecurity controls for accessing federal networks, which DOGE does not seem to be following, including by reportedly connecting personal devices to sensitive government systems. Such unregulated practices with our government’s most sensitive networks render Americans’ personal and financial information, and our classified national secrets, vulnerable to ransomware and cyber-attacks by criminals and foreign adversaries. The recent unprecedented Salt Typhoon and Change Healthcare attacks that affected tens of millions of Americans further underscore the importance of rigorously fortifying our government systems.

The Executive Branch cannot operate without regard to rules, regulations, or Congressional oversight. The American people, and our intelligence officials, deserve to know that their information is being appropriately safeguarded. We therefore respectfully request written responses to the following questions by February 14, 2025:

1. Provide a list of personnel operating under DOGE, their position or role, and their duties. 
2. Pursuant to the Executive Order, DOGE teams are to be established by Agency Heads within their respective agencies. Provide a list of each agency that has established a DOGE team, and the agency personnel overseeing such team.
3. Under what authorities is DOGE conducting its operations?
4. Who is overseeing DOGE’s operations? 
5. Provide a list of each agency DOGE has requested information from.
6. Provide a list of all unclassified systems, records, or other information DOGE has requested and/or gained access to. 
7. Provide a list of all classified systems, records, or other information DOGE has requested and/or gained access to.
8. Do DOGE staff or representatives have access to any Intelligence Community systems, networks, or other information? If so, please specify the extent of such access.
9. Under what authority is DOGE requesting and/or gaining access to classified information?
10. What security clearances have been provided to DOGE staff or representatives, and who has authorized such clearances?
11. What processes have been followed prior to granting security clearances to DOGE staff or representatives?
12. What vetting for potential conflicts of interest has been conducted prior to granting clearances or access to government systems, records, or other information to DOGE staff or representatives?
13. Provide a list of each DOGE staff or representative who has requested and/or gained access to classified information, what clearance each such individual holds, and who authorized each security clearance. 
14. Who is supervising and/or monitoring DOGE employee access to classified information?
15. What processes have been followed prior to granting DOGE staff or representatives access to sensitive government systems and networks, and who has authorized such access?
16. Who is supervising and/or monitoring DOGE employee access to sensitive government systems and networks?
17. Has DOGE briefed you, the White House Chief of Staff, on the counterintelligence and other risks of DOGE staff or representatives accessing classified and other sensitive information? If so, please specify the date of the briefing and those in attendance.
18. Has DOGE briefed you, the White House Chief of Staff, on the counterintelligence and other risks of DOGE staff or representatives accessing government networks and systems? If so, please specify the date of the briefing and those in attendance.
19. Has the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and/or the Central Intelligence Agency been briefed on the counterintelligence and other risks of DOGE staff or representatives accessing Treasury’s payment systems? If so, please specify the date of the briefing and those in attendance.  
20. Has the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and/or the Central Intelligence Agency been briefed on the counterintelligence and other risks of DOGE staff or representatives accessing USAID’s classified and other sensitive information, including security clearance files? If so, please specify the date of the briefing and those in attendance.
21. What actions if any has the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and/or the Central Intelligence Agency taken to ensure DOGE employee access does not create counterintelligence risks?
22. What actions if any has the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and/or the Central Intelligence Agency taken to ensure DOGE employee access does not compromise classified or other sensitive intelligence and/or personal information of intelligence community officials?  

To underscore, DOGE seems to have unimpeded access to some of our nation’s most sensitive information, including classified materials and the private personal and financial information of everyday Americans. In light of such unprecedented risks to our national and economic security, we expect your immediate attention and prompt response.

### 

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 loved 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.”

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, applauded congressional passage of the nation’s annual defense bill, which includes key priorities for Virginia, as well as a number of Warner-championed measures. The legislation now heads to the president to be signed into law.

“I’m glad to see the Senate vote to pass our nation’s annual defense bill, which delivers critical funding to equip our nation’s military, provide for our veterans, and strengthen our national security amid a complicated landscape of emerging threats,” said Sen. Warner. “I look forward to seeing the president sign this legislation. In the meantime, I will continue to deliver for Virginia by working prevent a costly government shutdown ahead of the holiday.”

The legislation supports $895.2 billion in funding for our nation’s defense and a number of other measures supported by thesenator, including – 

Servicemembers and the civilian defense workforce: 

• Authorizes a 14.5 percent pay raise for junior enlisted servicemembers and a 4.5 percent pay raise for all other servicemembers, a move that will dramatically improve quality of life for the men and women of our armed forces and their families.

• Contributes to better living conditions for servicemembers by broadening eligibility for the Basic Needs Allowance (BNA) – a supplemental monthly payment for qualifying service members on active duty – to 200% of federal poverty guidelines.
• Improves investment in military facilities by setting a statutory minimum level of investment for each military department. This will ensure adequate maintenance, sustainment, restoration, and modernization.
• Invests in unaccompanied military housing by adding $177 million in military construction design funds to accelerate replacement of poor and failing barracks.
• Provides better recourse for servicemembers facing maintenance issues in barracks by requiring the Department of Defense (DoD) to provide a digital maintenance system to residents that allows them to submit maintenance work orders, similar to what is required of military family housing. It also requires DoD to develop and implement standard criteria for a digital facilities management system that will track individual facility maintenance conditions as well as required and planned maintenance actions at the individual building level.
• Bridges the digital divide for servicemembers by requiring the Secretary of Defense to develop a policy for the military services to provide free internet to those living in barracks.
• Fully funds childcare fee assistance programs, a move that will address wait lists for eligible families in need of fee assistance.
• Improves access to childcare for servicemembers by authorizing $29.7 million to fund various Child Development Centers – including several across Virginia.
• Provides additional support for the children of servicemembers in the exceptional family member program by requiring DoD to initiate a pilot program to establish inclusive playgrounds at military installations for children with special needs.

Strengthening our military:

• Authorizes 14 military construction projects in Virginia, totaling more than $500 million. In Hampton Roads, that includes projects for the Navy at Little Creek, Oceana, Naval Station Norfolk, Yorktown, and Norfolk Naval Shipyard. It also includes a project for the Air Force at Langley-Eustis.

• Authorizes five dedicated spending requests personally championed by Sen. Warner, which will help accelerate the construction timeline of the following projects, by moving them forward in the Navy’s annual construction plan:
  • $2.75 million for design of a Child Development Center (CDC) at JEB Little Creek-Ft Story
  • $5.68 million for design of a CDC at MCB Quantico
  • $4.08 million for design of a CDC at NAS Oceana
  • $1.2 million for design of a CDC at NS Norfolk
  • $16 million for design of unaccompanied housing at NAS Oceana.
• Authorizes $33.5 billion in shipbuilding funding for the procurement of seven battle force ships, including one Virginia-class submarine, with incremental funding authority for a second ship and funding for additional material and support; and full funding of the Columbia class ballistic missile submarine program.

Strengthening our nation’s defense and cyber defense capabilities:

• Requires the NSA Director to establish an Artificial Intelligence Security Center within the National Security Agency,which would promote secure artificial intelligence adoption practices for managers of national security systems and elements of the defense industrial base. It would also develop guidance to prevent or mitigate counter-artificial intelligence techniques.
• Provides $17.5 billion for science and technology programs, including $100 million for research at HBCU and Minority Serving Institutions.
• Requires measures to improve the cybersecurity of mobile devices used by DoD in order to mitigate cyberattack risks against mobile devices and other threats that could undermine national security and defense operations.
• The bill includes a Warner-authored provision to require a pilot program proposal for a small modular reactor (SMR) on an installation of at least 60 megawatts of power. That proposal would be due to Congress by next June. 

Countering aggression by adversaries like Russia and China and strengthening democratic influence across the world:

• Includes language require a multi-agency analysis of national security risks posed by CCP-linked drone companies. This language was based on legislation authored by Sen. Warner that he has pushed to restore American leadership in the drone industry and ensure that China can’t spy on Americans or otherwise disrupt key functions of drone technology.
• Provides funding for the FCC’s Supply Chain Reimbursement Program. This program, based on Senator Warner’s United States 5G Leadership Act of 2019, provides important funding for telecommunications carriers, especially those carriers serving rural areas, to remove and replace dangerous PRC-sourced telecommunications network equipment. Sen. Warner has been a leading voice in Congress about the national security risks posed by PRC-controlled telecommunication companies. This  provision is estimated to deliver over $2.5 million in needed funding for local providers  in Virginia.
• Authorizes a Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, modeled after the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, to enable Taiwan to maintain sufficient self-defense capabilities consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act.
• Requires the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), within 90 days of this bill’s enactment, to provide Congress with an assessment of the likely course of the war in Ukraine through December 31, 2025. The report must include information on the ability of Ukraine’s military to defend against Russian aggression if the United States continues or discontinues military and economic assistance; the ability and willingness of other countries to continue or discontinue military and economic assistance to Ukraine; and the impacts of Russia’s potential defeat of Ukraine on United States national security and foreign policy interests, including the potential for further aggression from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.
• Establishes a DNI and Secretary of Defense Working Group to identify and share lessons that the United States intelligence community has learned from the Ukraine conflict.
• Includes a Warner and Kaine-led provision to codify the Sudan Special Envoy role for two years, and to provide additional support and resourcing for that office.

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Jim Risch (R-ID), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with U.S. Sens. Chris Coons (D-DE), Todd Young (R-IN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Mike Rounds (R-SD), wrote to President Biden, urging him to take more decisive action against foreign entities fueling the ongoing civil war in Sudan.

The violence in Sudan has led to a massive humanitarian crisis. Since the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began in April 2023, it’s estimated that the conflict has claimed the lives of tens of thousands to potentially over one hundred thousand individuals, and in the region, more than 25 million Sudanese are in need of immediate assistance. According to recent reporting, foreign entities, including those in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Russia, are providing a critical financial lifeline to the belligerents to the conflict and fueling the war. In their letter, the senators highlighted the administration’s current efforts to end this crisis, but stressed the need to do more regarding foreign influence in the war, specifically pointing to the role of illicit gold trading in financing the conflict.

The senators wrote, “We are deeply concerned that Sudan’s illicit gold trade enables lucrative revenue streams that perpetuate the documented atrocities and worsens the devastating humanitarian crisis in the country.  Sudan, one of Africa’s largest gold producers, has a gold industry worth billions of dollars. The RSF controls Sudan’s richest gold mines, including in Jebel Amir. Over the past decade, the RSF and its leader, Mohamed Hamdan (Hemedti) Dagalo, have established dominance over Sudan’s gold trade, using ‘front companies and banks based in Sudan and the UAE’  to finance weapons, propaganda, and alliances with armed groups. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has identified gold operations as ‘a vital source of revenue for the Dagalo family and the RSF.’ This revenue fuels violence, as documented by the United Nations.”

Detailing the involvement of the foreign countries in this illicit practice, the senators continued, “The UAE is a major hub for smuggled Sudanese gold entering global markets. Between 2012 and 2022, Emirati companies reportedly received over 2,500 tons of illicit African gold worth approximately $115 billion.  Sudan’s gold exports predominantly route to the UAE, but their true scale is obscured by significant smuggling and undervaluation. Despite its removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s “gray list” in February 2024, the UAE’s gold sector remains vulnerable to money laundering.  Reports have further linked Sudanese gold smuggled through the UAE to Russia’s Wagner Group, which uses these funds to support operations in Africa and Russia’s war in Ukraine, undermining international sanctions and exacerbating Sudan’s conflict.”

Sen. Warner has been a leading voice in the Senate about the need for increased diplomatic and humanitarian support for Sudan since the war erupted. In May 2023, Sen. Warner requested that the Biden administration issue a new Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Sudan, which was subsequently issued. Later that month, Sen. Warner urged the administration to offer all available support for humanitarian efforts in the region – and to be forward leaning on prioritizing local and community-based response efforts – and to appoint a Special Envoy to Sudan tasked with coordinating and leading U.S. diplomatic efforts to address the crisis. In December 2023, Sen. Warner continued public calls to the Biden administration to appoint a Special Envoy to Sudan, and former U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello was subsequently appointed to the position. Last month, Sen. Warner also joined Sens. Risch and Coons in introducing the Sudan Accountability Act. He has also continued his efforts to provide support to Sudan and the Sudanese diaspora, regularly communicating with Special Envoy Perriello, and meeting with the Sudanese community in Virginia.

A copy of the letter is available here and below.

Dear Mr. President,

We urge immediate action by your administration to target foreign external actors and foreign business entities fueling the gruesome atrocities in the Sudanese conflict, including those smuggling gold from Sudan to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other countries. We also urge your Administration to expeditiously coordinate with allies and partners to strengthen the international response to the conflict, including through multilateral investigations and sanctions, to ensure all responsible actors are held to account.

For over 19 months, fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has caused devastating harm to the Sudanese people.  The conflict in Sudan has claimed tens of thousands to potentially over one hundred thousand lives, with preventable diseases and starvation emerging as the leading causes of death from April 2023 to June 2024.  The violence has displaced more than 11 million people, leaving approximately 25 million people—half of Sudan’s population—in urgent need of food and critical assistance.  It has also fueled uncontrolled outbreaks of cholera, malaria, dengue fever, and other diseases. As U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield stated in September, millions of Sudanese are “on the verge of generational famine.”

We recognize the ongoing efforts of the United States, particularly the work of Special Envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, to end the conflict, ensure humanitarian access, and hold the two warring parties and their supporters accountable. Specifically, we applaud your administration’s actions to designate SAF and RSF members to the Office of Foreign Asset Control’s (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals List, and to announce a blocked pending investigation action against seven UAE companies for potentially violating U.S. sanctions on Sudan.  However, the Administration must do more to hold to account not only the warring parties, but also external actors providing support to both sides of the conflict, including the UAE, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, as well as foreign business entities helping to finance both sides of the conflict.

For example, we are deeply concerned that Sudan’s illicit gold trade enables lucrative revenue streams that perpetuate the documented atrocities and worsens the devastating humanitarian crisis in the country.  Sudan, one of Africa’s largest gold producers, has a gold industry worth billions of dollars. The RSF controls Sudan’s richest gold mines, including in Jebel Amir. Over the past decade, the RSF and its leader, Mohamed Hamdan (Hemedti) Dagalo, have established dominance over Sudan’s gold trade, using “front companies and banks based in Sudan and the UAE”  to finance weapons, propaganda, and alliances with armed groups. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has identified gold operations as “a vital source of revenue for the Dagalo family and the RSF.” This revenue fuels violence, as documented by the United Nations. 

The UAE is a major hub for smuggled Sudanese gold entering global markets. Between 2012 and 2022, Emirati companies reportedly received over 2,500 tons of illicit African gold worth approximately $115 billion.  Sudan’s gold exports predominantly route to the UAE, but their true scale is obscured by significant smuggling and undervaluation. Despite its removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s “gray list” in February 2024, the UAE’s gold sector remains vulnerable to money laundering.  Reports have further linked Sudanese gold smuggled through the UAE to Russia’s Wagner Group, which uses these funds to support operations in Africa and Russia’s war in Ukraine, undermining international sanctions and exacerbating Sudan’s conflict.

We therefore urge your administration to expand efforts by OFAC to fully leverage existing executive authorities and congressionally authorized enforcement mechanisms to hold accountable individuals and entities destabilizing Sudan. More decisive action is needed to target the business entities and external actors fueling the conflict, particularly under the authority of Executive Order 14098 and the Global Magnitsky Act. In particular, the U.S. should identify any additional UAE entities violating U.S. sanctions relating to smuggling of gold and ensure those entities are held to account.

Finally, strengthening international coordination is essential to effectively implement and monitor investigations into the atrocities by both sides of the conflict and by external entities. We should also ensure multilateral and comprehensive sanctions against business entities supporting the conflict, including entities profiting from Sudan’s illicit gold smuggling. The United States must enhance diplomatic engagement with external actors enabling the conflict while taking concrete steps to dismantle the illegal financing and smuggling networks that sustain it.

In the final months of your administration, we look forward to working with you to enhance U.S. efforts to end the conflict in Sudan, address the humanitarian crisis, hold accountable those responsible for atrocities, and stop the actors fueling this crisis inside and outside Sudan.

Sincerely, 

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WASHINGTON – Today, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement: 

“This agreement to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has killed thousands of people, is a welcome development for the region and should increase pressure on Hamas to reach a cease-fire agreement to end the fighting and destruction in the Gaza Strip, which has already claimed so many innocent lives. I applaud diplomatic efforts by the Biden administration and other international partners over many months in helping to reach this point.”

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the statement below, following an announcement by the Biden-Harris administration that TSMC will receive up to $6.6 billion in direct funding, which will be paired with over $65 billion in private investment to support three leading-edge facilities in Arizona that will manufacture the world’s most advanced semiconductor process technologies. This funding was awarded through the Department of Commerce’s CHIPS Incentives Program and appropriated through the CHIPS and Science Act – legislation negotiated and championed by Sen. Warner. 

“Congress originally passed the CHIPS and Science Act because we knew that our national security depended on it. Today’s $6.6 billion investment will help support production of the most advanced chips, used for advanced applications like Artificial Intelligence. This is a win for American workers, for our advanced manufacturing industry, and for the resilience and security of our supply chains,” said Sen. Warner.

At full capacity, TSMC’s three fabs are expected to manufacture tens of millions of leading-edge logic chips that will power products like 5G/6G smartphones, autonomous vehicles, and high-performance computing and AI applications. Reshoring and rebuilding production of these most advanced chips in the United States will help maintain our national security by strengthening our qualitative advantage against foreign adversaries. 

Sen. Warner, co-chair of the Senate Cybersecurity Caucus and former technology entrepreneur, has long sounded the alarm about the importance of investing in domestic semiconductor manufacturing. Sen. Warner first introduced the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Act in June 2020 along with Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). 

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WASHINGTON – Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Mark R. Warner (D-VA) issued a statement condemning Iran’s missile attacks against Israel:

“As Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I am closely monitoring Iran’s most recent missile attack against the state of Israel. America’s commitment to Israel’s security remains ironclad.”

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