Virginia Sen. Mark Warner will serve as the Democratic Party’s new lead on the Senate Intelligence Committee, replacing California Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
“With a new administration starting to assemble its national security team, I look forward to fulfilling the committee’s primary responsibility to provide vigorous and bipartisan oversight,” Warner said in a statement released Wednesday.
“One of things I value most about my service on the Intelligence Committee is the tradition of members leaving partisanship at the door when we enter the committee room,” Warner said. “In a dangerous world, the responsibilities of the Intelligence Committee are more essential than ever.”
Feinstein is leaving her position as ranking member to take the same post on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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Warner could represent a mild change compared to his predecessor. Feinstein maintained a close working relationship with Republicans during her tenure on the committee, usually favoring broader powers for the federal government. She cosponsored legislation with the committee’s Republican chairman, North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, aimed at weakening commercial encryption that was widely panned by privacy advocates.
Warner partnered with Texas Republican and Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul to propose competing legislation that would have created a commission to study encryption.
Burr congratulated Feinstein and Warner on the new assignments in a Wednesday statement. “I know we will continue our collective efforts to both oversee the intelligence community and ensure that we do all we can to reinforce our national security at home and abroad,” Burr said.
