Sen. Warner says Trump’s election plan “deeply alarming”

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) spoke out on Capitol Hill Tuesday about what he said are President Donald Trump’s esclating threats to fair elections.

During a press conference, the senator said that the president’s recent calls to “nationalize elections” are a threat to democracy.

“It is deeply alarming that just yesterday, the president called for Republicans, his words, to take over and nationalize voting in multiple states,” Warner said.

Sen. Warner also highlighted his concerns about Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s presence at a Georgia election office raid as well as her facilitation of a phone call between FBI agents and the president.

“She does not belong on the scene of a domestic FBI search, particularly one tied to the president’s personal grievances carried out under the pretense of normal law enforcement,” said Warner, who serves as the Vice Chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Gabbard on Tuesday.

“I don’t see anything wrong with the president tasking cabinet member to pursue an issue that most people want to see solved. Maybe you don’t, but I know many Americans do want to make sure our elections are protected. And that’s what Tulsi Gabbard is focused on doing,” Leavitt said.

Looking ahead, Warner said he is also worried about how the upcoming midterm elections and beyond.

“I have deep concerns about the fairness of our elections in ’26 and ’28, right now,” he said. “...These kind of actions that have taken place over the last year, as we’ve seen, the systemic dismantling of the very protections that were put in place by, again, the first Trump administration, if it doesn’t scare the heck out of you, it should.”