Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) says the 16-day government shutdown can only be resolved if President Trump becomes directly involved in negotiations, arguing that Republican congressional leadership lacks the independence to act without White House direction.
“Donald Trump rules the Republican Party with an iron fist, and he has to be in the negotiations to get this dispute resolved,” Warner said during a media availability with Virginia media on Thursday. “The idea that there would be any kind of independent acting Republicans, and I’ve been proud to work on all of those gangs in the past, at least at this moment in time, would be simply a fantasy.”
The Virginia Democrat criticized what he called unprecedented targeting of federal workers during the shutdown, describing the Trump administration’s actions as “clearly trying to target what are so-called Democratic priorities.” Warner pointed to firings at the CDC, mental health and substance abuse agencies, and community development financial institutions as examples of politically motivated cuts.
“They are angry, they’re pissed off,” Warner said of federal workers he has met with this week. “They feel like [the administration] has targeted the federal workforce in an unfair, biased, and just plain cruel way.”
A federal judge in California issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday night, halting the mass firings after the government failed to provide a reasonable justification for the dismissals. Warner called the firings illegal, noting that workers locked out of government computers couldn’t determine if they were being terminated or access HR departments for paperwork.
“When the government was pressed on what are your underlying reasons, the government attorneys wouldn’t give any underlying reason,” Warner said of the court proceedings.
Regarding the reports from the Trump administration that up to 10,000 federal workers could face termination during the shutdown, Warner said that the figure is “picked out of the sky to try to intimidate and frighten people.”
Warner warned that the shutdown coincides with what he termed a “health care cliff” as Americans who purchase insurance through Obamacare marketplaces receive notices of dramatically increased premiums. He cited examples of Virginia residents facing rate doubles, including a Roanoke couple in their early 60s making $80,000 annually whose monthly premiums would jump from $847 to over $2,000.
“People have to choose their health care plan or drop out starting November 1st,” Warner said, noting that similar rate increases are occurring in Richmond, Virginia Beach, and Northern Virginia markets.
The senator argued that combining Medicaid cuts with marketplace disruptions would force millions of Americans to seek care at emergency rooms, driving up costs for all privately insured Americans. “Those costs at the emergency room, which are the highest costs in our whole health care system, are passed on to all the rest of us who have other kind of private health insurance,” he said.
Warner also addressed pressure from the White House on universities, including a federal compact sent to nine institutions, including the University of Virginia. The compact asks universities to align with White House political agendas in exchange for federal funding.
“These compacts, which I think are illegal and frankly would politicize our universities at an unprecedented level, would be a disaster for any university to sign,” Warner said. He noted that MIT rejected the compact after faculty leadership warned the university would lose 300 to 400 of its best faculty members if it signed.
Warner suggested that former UVA President Jim Ryan was “pushed out for completely not valid reasons,” claiming the university was prepared to turn over requested documents but certain board members urged against compliance.
“The idea that you’re going to limit your researchers’ ability to research based upon the whims of this White House would be a giant step backwards and a giant gift to China,” Warner said, warning that political pressure could drive top faculty to foreign universities with active recruitment programs.
The senator expressed concern about government contractors, particularly in Northern Virginia, who are implementing “austerity measures,” including mandatory time off and layoffs. Defense contractor Peraton has filed WARN Act notices for potential layoffs.
Warner and Sen. Tim Kaine are working on legislation to provide back pay for federal contractors, similar to a 2019 law signed by Trump that guaranteed back pay for federal employees during shutdowns.
“I cannot believe that reasonable people in a room for a single day couldn’t get this resolved,” Warner said, calling for Trump to bring the same attention to the domestic crisis that he applied to Middle East negotiations.
Warner praised the California judge’s temporary restraining order as providing relief for federal employees but warned the administration might appeal or ignore the ruling entirely. “If he starts ignoring court orders, the question is, do we have a constitutional democracy anymore?” he said.
The senator criticized Republican colleagues for their silence on the administration’s actions, calling it “a bitter pill for me to swallow as somebody who’s taken pride in trying to work on all these issues on a bipartisan basis.”
Warner emphasized that resolution requires Trump’s direct involvement, suggesting the president could even choose which Democrats to include in negotiations. “It could be done in less than a day,” he said, arguing that the current approach of harassing federal workers is having the opposite of its intended effect.
