Virginia Senator Mark Warner (D) Talks Risk of AI Taking Jobs

**SPEAKER_1** (0:02)
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio, News.

**Joe Mathieu** (0:07)
Joining us now to talk about the ongoing war, the big debate over funding that's happening today on Capitol Hill is the Democratic Senator, Mark Warner of Virginia, who's vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member as well of the Senate Finance Committee. It's great to see you, Senator, and welcome back to Bloomberg TV and Radio. We've got a lot of questions for you, and we may as well start with funding for the war as Pete Hegseth continues to make the argument in this Appropriations Committee hearing.
$37.5 billion was the price tag he offered for operations so far, but of course the administration is asking for a lot more. When you consider the vote on this supplemental budget request, the number of active-duty troops in your state, the number of defense contractors, your voice is pretty important here. Are you a yes or a no?

**Mark Warner** (0:52)
At this point, Joe, I'm a no, because the Defense Department still has roughly $85 billion of unspent money. I agree that we have taken down our stocks of munitions. They need to be replenished. Take it out of already appropriated money. This was a war of choice.
And the irony is to start a war of choice without a plan, or a plan that we were going to bomb Iran into submission. The four goals that the administration laid out, regime change, how's that going? The current crowd is worse. Enriched uranium, we haven't gotten it out. It would take 15,000 troops on the ground. Getting rid of their missiles and drones, obviously not the case. And straight of our moves, seems to me, with gas now back to $4 and diesel above $5, that's not working out as well. This was a war of choice. The president never made the case to the American people. It's dreadfully unpopular.
We want to replenish those troops, and I do. Take it from the funds that have already been appropriated that are sitting in basically the budget at DOD.

**Kailey Leinz** (1:59)
Well, of course, DOD is asking for even more in the next fiscal year budget, $1.5 trillion. There is a question as to whether or not that regular appropriations process will be completed. Most often, Senator, we hear it will not be, hence, a continuing resolution that is going to be voted in the House tonight and will reach your chamber shortly thereafter. Are you willing to cast that vote now to fund the government through December?

**Mark Warner** (2:21)
I would rather see if we... It feels like throwing in the towel now when we've got weeks left before September 30th.

**Kailey Leinz** (2:31)
So that's a no?

**Mark Warner** (2:32)
No, I've not looked...
Is it a clean CR? Is it not a clean CR? I've got enough on my plate right now. I've not focused on this yet. If it comes over, I'll take a good, solid look, but the thing that I worry, is I do think there are some changes at the Department of Defense that are really important. They're trying to move to multi-year contract. They're trying to see if we can squeeze more resources out. I mean, the Deputy Secretary, Steve Feinberg, who is a business guy, I have a lot of respect for. But you can't ask the Democrats to write a blank check when they haven't said, okay, usually there's a ratio between defense spending and domestic spending. But they don't even want to talk about that yet. You can't, you, as we, as, in my state, we get through the election and if the big ugly bill law is actually implemented, we'll throw 300,000 Virginians off of health care coverage from Medicaid. And I'm supposed to then almost double the defense budget when we're taking health care away so dramatically. This is not the way things ought to operate. And frankly, the administration on some of these one-time items, I don't think has really fully made the case.

**Joe Mathieu** (3:48)
It says a lot about where we are. When you're still looking for a top line and the leadership wants to vote on a CR before August recess because we can't get anything done. But you're right, you have a lot on your plate right now. And I'm wondering how you feel about the president's pick, I think I know to some extent, to be the next DNI.
Should Jay Clayton have that job and then you get on to renewing FISA?

**Mark Warner** (4:11)
I know Jay Clayton. I like Jay Clayton. I worked with him well when he was head of the SEC.
But I was bitterly disappointed when he came before the committee and couldn't even say who was elected president in 2020