U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 10, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/File Phto

By Patricia Zengerle and Doina Chiacu

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senator Mark Warner, the Democratic vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on Wednesday his planned oversight visit to an intelligence agency was cancelled as a result of criticism by far-right activist Laura Loomer.

Warner had been scheduled to meet on September 5 with staff at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s headquarters in Springfield, Virginia, which he described as a meeting scheduled weeks earlier as part of his normal committee duties.

Warner said he got word the visit was cancelled after Loomer criticized him and NGA Director Vice Admiral Trey Whitworth online during the weekend.

"It's beyond outrageous," Warner told reporters. Warner is the senior senator from Virginia, a state that is home to several intelligence agencies, including the CIA, and his constituents include thousands of people who work on national security issues.

"Where does it end?" he asked. Warner said he hoped his Republican colleagues would also push for access, but that he had not had a chance to discuss the matter with Senator Tom Cotton, the Republican intelligence committee chairman.

Aides to Cotton did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

"The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency visit was rescheduled, not canceled, in order to accommodate bipartisan participation in the town hall event," a defense official said.

Warner said the incident is the latest example of Loomer's influence on President Donald Trump's administration.

"In response to Loomer’s criticism, political appointees canceled the visit, just the latest example of an administration seemingly desperate to please Loomer, a figure with a long history of extreme and outlandish fringe views, including 9/11 denialism, anti-Muslim harassment campaigns, and associations with white supremacists," Warner said in a statement late on Tuesday.

Warner said he has held more than a dozen listening sessions with nonpartisan career intelligence professionals from various agencies who are his constituents in Virginia.

Loomer took credit for the meeting's cancellation in several social media posts starting late on Tuesday, saying Warner was "LOOMERED."

"Following my expose of Biden appointed NGA Director Trey Whitworth, who was Mark Milley’s handpicked Director for NGA @NGA_GEOINT, Whitworth’s scheduled September 5th fireside love fest with anti-Trump Democrat Senator @MarkWarner Mark Warner has been CANCELED!" she wrote.

Loomer, a fervent Trump supporter, has maneuvered her way from an online agitator in his MAGA base to self-appointed presidential adviser.

With 1.7 million followers on X and a weekly program that draws thousands of views, Loomer has weighed in on everything from the new pope to Trump's pick for surgeon general. She has claimed responsibility for the firings of former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and other aides.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Rod Nickel and Nia Williams)