U.S. Sen. Mark Warner
Quick shower possible around midday, and humidity stays low throughout the weekend.
This past Saturday afternoon, as the U.S. Senate readied to begin its 15-hour vote-a-rama on that sweeping, $739 billion economic package, Democrat Mark Warner was in his office at the Hart building. His Apple watch buzzed, signaling he had a call. It didn’t indicate from whom. That happens a lot.
The caller was Joe Biden. He wanted to thank Warner for helping rope in Krysten Sinema of Arizona.
Sinema’s endorsement of the Inflation Reduction Act — notwithstanding, her last-minute demand to preserve a tax loophole for the uber-rich private-equity crowd — ensured Senate passage, albeit with only Democratic votes. It would be the first step toward congressional approval and another victory for an unpopular president some Democrats want to get rid of in 2024.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. discusses his push with Rep. Abigail Spanberger to bring another semiconductor chip manufacturing facility to Virginia.
Warner is not one of them, though it should not come as a surprise that after big days for him such as Saturday and Sunday, he gets calls from Democratic grandees — former Cabinet officials, ex-governors, fundraisers and tech execs, who nudge him to think about national office, as he briefly did more than 15 years ago.
Later Saturday, having played phone tag with Virginia’s Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin — himself flirting with a presidential candidacy, despite Donald Trump’s seeming lock on the GOP nomination — Warner and Youngkin finally connected. Youngkin was returning Warner’s call.
The senator, who, 20 years ago, was — as Youngkin is now — a neophyte governor learning on the job, wanted to talk with Youngkin about subsidies for semiconductor companies in the state under a Warner-managed measure, signed by Biden on Tuesday, aimed at reducing U.S. dependence on chips made in Asia, especially China-menaced Taiwan.
Youngkin wanted Warner’s thoughts on federal aid for flood-ravaged Southwest Virginia, an area they both carried for governor that is worn down by poverty and ill health and where Warner is planning a swing this month. Bet he’ll have a lot to say out there about Republicans resisting caps on insulin prices.
It’s good to be the senior senator from Virginia: You’re important. Other important people call you, sometimes out of the blue. Other important people call you back.
But for Warner, there are more telling measures of effectiveness. Elected in 2020 to a third six-year term, Warner — for whom the collaborative Senate initially was a clunky fit for someone accustomed to wielding largely unchecked executive power as a governor and info-tech investor, has had a big say in some of the Senate’s biggest issues.
That includes, as vice chair of the Intelligence Committee Warner now leads, the 2020 bipartisan investigation documenting Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election on behalf of Trump.
Also, the 2021 infrastructure bill — an early splash for Biden — that was named for Warner’s Republican predecessor, John Warner, and for Virginia, alone, meant more than $8 billion for roads, bridges and airports.
The infrastructure bill reflected one of Mark Warner’s defining characteristics: At a time when politics is about extremes, Warner is always looking for the middle. The infrastructure bill was the handiwork of 10 senators — five Democrats, five Republicans.
They included the two maverick Democrats who Warner, in the haggling over the climate-focused, tax-fattened, deficit-reducing IRA, was tasked with bringing into the fold: Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sinema.
Warner practices as a senator what was his hallmark as governor: the political equivalent of horse-whispering. His signature achievement as governor — a $1.4 billion tax rise in 2004 for schools, cops and health care — was born of tireless schmoozing of centrist Republicans who would break with their party’s legislative majorities.
That tax increase, while a violation of a promise he made as a candidate in 2001, propelled Warner into presidential orbit. His was a short-lived exploratory effort that gave way to his first Senate victory in 2008, when — as a measure of his bipartisan appeal — Warner ran ahead of Barack Obama in Virginia, which would tip Democratic for president for the first time since 1964.
In what is likely to become Washington lore, Warner visited Manchin at his houseboat on the Potomac River ahead of the vote to discuss the legislation’s fine print, only to get caught in a downpour. Warner traded his soggy business suit for a pair of Manchin’s shorts and a T-shirt. A Manchin aide the next day returned the suit, cleaned and pressed.
Before the final vote Sunday, Warner thwarted a possible last-minute defection by Sinema with an amendment, approved on a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Kamala Harris, that would partly finance a 15% corporate minimum tax with accounting arcana to shield smaller businesses Sinema feared could be hit by the new levy.
These busy weeks for Warner show that he has become as a senator what he first resisted: an institutionalist who works within the system and worries that the dismantling of some Senate traditions have only made it a poisonous place. As a mid-baby boomer — Warner is 67 — he’s a bridge between Senate’s gray hairs and its Gen Xers.
The national profile he’s achieved as a senator is complemented by his roots — personal and political. Warner was born in Indiana, a red state; grew up in blue Connecticut and achieved elective office in a competitive Virginia, where Republican Youngkin’s win in 2021 suggests the state is still purple.
The dump-Biden movement — again, Warner wants no part of it and favors him for a second term — may peter out if the midterms aren’t murderous for Democrats. But what’s lost in considering Warner for the presidency — or him considering it — if Biden bows out, especially given the oversupply in the Democratic Party of overly liberal alternatives?
Then, again, there’s always 2026.
Warner will be eyeing a fourth term in the Senate and Youngkin, finishing his four years as governor, would be looking for a new job.
In April 1956, a new air raid siren was installed atop a small tower (behind street sign) at the corner of Laburnum Avenue and Brook Road in Richmond. It was one of three new sirens being installed to broaden the city's Civil Defense warning system. The other two were placed at John B. Cary School and at Engine Co. 20 on Forest Hill Avenue.
In August 1946, leaders of the three flights in the Gamble’s Hill Community Center Air Scouts received their banners at the first review of the corps held in Gamble’s Hill Park. This was the only troop of Air Scouts organized in Richmond at that time; they wore the regulation National Air Scout uniform. Pictured (from left) were pilot leader Eddie Williams, sponsor Verna Walker, pilot leader William Massie, sponsor Barbara Chandler, pilot leader Everett Webb and sponsor Virginia Blackburn. The community center was financed by Second Presbyterian Church.
This March 1952 image shows a wagon, believed to have been Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s during the Civil War, as it was retired to the Army’s Richmond Quartermaster Depot at Bellwood. The wagon was among numerous items being transferred from Cameron Station in Alexandria; it can still be seen at the Army Quartermaster Museum at Fort Lee.
In June 1939 at the state Capitol in Richmond, the first of a planned dozen Chevrolet bookmobiles of the Statewide Library Project was put into service. The project, which aimed to expand book availability in rural areas, was part of the Work Projects Administration, a New Deal employment program. At right, WPA official Ella Agnew turned over the key to C.W. Dickinson Jr. of the State Board of Education. With them were (from left) F.E. Gross of Chevrolet, Leslie Stevens of the Virginia State Library, project technical supervisor Mary Gaver and project administrative supervisor W.A. Moon Jr.
This June 1952 image shows one of “Dr. Duval’s pills,” part of a trio of 30-inch granite Turkish cannonballs, in its new location at John Marshall High School at Eighth and Marshall streets in Richmond. After standing for many years on a pedestal in front of Grays’ Armory at Seventh and Marshall, this one was destined to join its two mates at the city Works Department trash heap at the old fairgrounds, where those two had lain missing since World War II until being rediscovered in January 1952. This one was instead saved with a move out of the way of downtown traffic.
When this photo of Cloverleaf Mall was taken in March 1975, the shopping center was just three years old.
In May 1946, the future of the military draft was in question, and David Burruss, 19, of Norfolk, got lots of attention when he was thought to be the last man selected at the Richmond Armed Forces Induction Station. He was among about a dozen inductees who then headed off to Fort Meade in Maryland. (The wartime selective service act was extended, though.)
In December 1953, the new whirlaway, a merry-go-round type of gadget turned by the foot power of dozens of students, was popular at Dumbarton Elementary School in Henrico County. The attraction was part of a new set of playground equipment purchased with $750 donated by the Lakeside Lions Club. Watching the children (from left) were H.F. Taylor, Lions Club president; Joseph Rotella, school principal; and F.M. Armbrecht, chairman of the PTA recreation committee.
This April 1955 image shows men dipping for herring in Falling Creek in Chesterfield County. Herring would arrive in rivers in the spring to spawn, and dipping was a popular activity that allowed men to socialize while stocking up on fish that could be salted and eaten throughout the year.
In May 1948, flooding from heavy rains in the Windsor Shades area of New Kent County washed out a Chesapeake & Ohio Railway bed, leaving unsupported rails spanning a chasm. The flooded U.S. Route 60 is in the foreground. As much as 8 feet of water was reported on Route 60 in the area.
This August 1936 image shows the former headquarters of the Army’s 80th Division at Camp Lee near Petersburg. The building was constructed during World War I and later known as David House. In 1972, it was designated as a historical site; it is still standing today as the oldest building at Fort Lee and the only one left from WWI.
This October 1955 image shows Laurel Elementary School in Henrico County, which was a constant source of complaints. The building, dating to the early 1900s, was not being maintained to a high standard because the county planned to abandon it for a new school soon. Most of the broken windows seen were on the unused third and fourth floors. While Henrico hoped to have the new Maude Trevvett Elementary opened by September 1956, it did not open until January 1958.
In October 1961, a crane swung a wrecking ball against the portico of the old John Marshall High School in downtown Richmond as a nostalgic crowd watched. The building was being razed to make way for development of the new Civic Center; the new high school opened in North Side the previous year.
In June 1975, the band Ice Water performed in the Flintstone Follies Theater at Kings Dominion in Doswell. The theme park fully opened the previous month with 15 attractions; its Lion Country Safari area had opened in 1974. Today, the park offers more than 60 rides, shows and attractions as well as a water park.
In May 1975, Gov. Mills E. Godwin Jr. greeted a porpoise on the opening day of Kings Dominion in Doswell. The theme park opened with 15 attractions; its Lion Country Safari area had opened a year before. Today, the park offers more than 60 rides, shows and attractions as well as a water park.
This October 1955 image shows Laurel Elementary School in Henrico County, which was a constant source of complaints. The building, dating to the early 1900s, was not being maintained to a high standard because the county planned to abandon it for a new school soon. Most of the broken windows seen were on the unused third and fourth floors. While Henrico hoped to have the new Maude Trevvett Elementary opened by September 1956, it did not open until January 1958.
This April 1946 image shows members of the Girl Reserve Club at Maggie Walker High School in Richmond. Club activities included drama, knitting, glass painting, embroidery and sewing. From left were Laura Belle Manning, Marie Spurlock, Eloise Taylor and Gladys Claxton.
In February 1951, this window display, using Richmond Times-Dispatch and Richmond News-Leader pages for a background, was set up in a Grace Street window of Miller & Rhoads in connection with the approach of Easter and new spring finery. Addison Lewis was director of window displays at the department store for 52 years, a span in which the scenes became extremely popular.
The June 10, 1961, edition of The Richmond News Leader included a photo essay titled “Contrasts.” The photos depicted old and new around the city — such as a mule and a truck, which were both relied on for hauling duties.
In April 1947, about 20,000 pounds of paper was collected in a drive at Dumbarton Elementary School in Henrico County, with Edward O'Brien (from left), Leroy Foster and Thomas Riggan in charge. The paper was sold, with proceeds used to purchase library books and other materials for students. The previous year, paper-drive money purchased a mimeographing machine for teacher use.
This May 1959 image shows construction along Patterson Avenue between Libbie and Maple avenues in Richmond. This block had just reopened to traffic, but ongoing work continued to block passage to the east of the shopping center.
In August 1970, a student peered out of a Richmond Public Schools bus on a rainy morning as cross-town busing began in the city. Amid controversy, about 13,000 students in Richmond were bused to different schools under a federal court order to help achieve integration.
In March 1930, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway’s new luxury train, the Sportsman, stopped at Main Street Station in Richmond on the last leg of an exhibition tour ahead of service beginning on a new route from Norfolk to Detroit and Cleveland. In its day on exhibit in Richmond, the train was visited by about 10,000 people, including Gov. John Pollard, Lt. Gov. James Price, Mayor J. Fulmer Bright and numerous other local and state dignitaries.
In August 1942, members of the canteen class, sponsored by the Richmond chapter of the American Red Cross, finished their course with a demonstration of mass feeding at the Sauer Co. Among those serving were (from left) Mrs. T.V. Adamson, Mrs. Thomas Cook, Mrs. Keeling Sisson and Mrs. Irving Matthews.
In March 1943, teenagers visited the newly reopened Main Street Station Dining Room in Richmond, which was closed for a month to allow for remodeling required by the city. During that period, the Red Cross stepped in to supply food to World War II servicemen passing through the terminal.
This August 1963 aerial image shows the area between the Hotel Richmond and Interstate 95. In the distance is the Centennial Dome, which was constructed as a visitor center for the 1961 Civil War Centennial. It then served for decades as the Jonah L. Larrick Student Center at the Medical College of Virginia.
In November 1949, Richmond’s electric streetcars, which began service in 1888, were retired from service. Here, a crowd waited to board cars as they took ceremonial final trips through the city, with car signs touting the city’s new bus service. The Virginia Transit Co. spent $2.2 million on 166 buses for the new system.
In November 1934, a reproduction of a mule-drawn trolley was the first vehicle to cross the newly restored Marshall Street Viaduct in Richmond. Horse- or mule-drawn trolleys were a preferred mode of transportation here starting in about 1860. They began to be replaced by electric trolleys in the late 1880s, and they were all retired by 1901.
This June 1950 image shows the former Westwood Circle in Richmond, a traffic circle at the intersection of North Boulevard, Hermitage Road and Westwood Avenue. In November 1961, a $150,000 project removed the circle, added islands and traffic signals, and diverted some traffic around the busy intersection. City safety official John Hanna called the intersection the “most complicated we have had to redesign and signalize in the past 14 years.”
In January 1988, Lt. Gov. L. Douglas Wilder (left) shared a laugh with tennis star and humanitarian Arthur Ashe at a birthday celebration for Wilder in Richmond. The gala raised money for Wilder’s upcoming race for governor; his victory made him the first African-American elected governor in the nation.
This January 1955 image shows businessmen using the Health Club at the downtown Richmond YMCA. The Health Club, which featured massages, ultraviolet and infrared lamps, and steam rooms, promoted its services as the busy businessman’s alternative to exercise. The local Y had been celebrating its 100th anniversary, having been formed in 1854 — just 10 years after the international association was established.
Contact Jeff E. Schapiro at (804) 649- 6814 or jschapiro@timesdispatch.com. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter, @RTDSchapiro. Listen to his analysis 7:45 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. Friday on Radio IQ, 89.7 FM in Richmond and 89.1 FM in Roanoke, and in Norfolk on WHRV, 89.5 FM.
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U.S. Sen. Mark Warner
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