WASHINGTON (AP) — The top ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee says a classified meeting planned with a key U.S. spy agency was called off after it was criticized by Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist.
The cancellation of Sen. Mark Warner’s visit with career intelligence staffers at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency represents an escalation of the Trump administration’s efforts to block Congress from exercising oversight over the nation’s intelligence agencies.
“Is congressional oversight dead?” Warner, of Virginia, said Wednesday, questioning Loomer’s authority over the intelligence community. “Is she now the secretary of defense and the director of national intelligence?”
Loomer has taken credit for the State Department suspending visas for wounded Palestinian children seeking medical treatment in the U.S. and several staff changes in the administration, accusing some officials of not being not sufficiently loyal to Trump. Loomer has a history of making racist and anti-Islamic attacks on social media, and once shared a video on X that said “9/11 was an Inside Job!”
While not as well known as the CIA or NSA, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency handles the collection and analysis of imaging information, including satellite imagery, used for military and intelligence operations. Its director reports to both the director of national intelligence and the secretary of defense.
Warner said he has had more than a dozen similar meetings with the NGA and other spy agencies under Republican and Democratic presidencies, including during Trump’s first term. He said he was hoping to ask the NGA about its use of artificial intelligence and other matters.
In a social media post Sunday, Loomer detailed plans for the meeting and criticized Warner and Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth, the NGA’s director, who was tapped to lead the agency by former President Joe Bidem.
“I’m told NGA is infested with Trump haters,” Loomer wrote.
In a post Tuesday, Loomer took credit for exposing the meeting and called on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to fire Whitworth.
Warner said he believes the meeting was canceled by Hegseth’s office. The Pentagon said the visit was not canceled but rescheduled “to accommodate bipartisan participation in the town hall event.”
Spokespeople for the NGA and for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declined to comment. Loomer did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Trump has downplayed Loomer’s influence, but a growing list of administration officials have resigned or been dismissed following her criticism.
They include former Food and Drug Administration vaccine chief Dr. Vinay Prasad, who announced his departure in August; Jen Easterly, former head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, who was dismissed from a post at the U.S. Military Academy; as well as Air Force Gen. Tim Haugh, former director of the NSA and the Pentagon’s Cyber Command.
The State Department also announced last month that it would suspend all visitor visas for people from Gaza, pending a review, a day after Loomer posted videos on social media of children from Gaza arriving in the U.S. for medical treatment and questioned how they got visas. The administration announced a new, restrictive visa policy for Gaza this week.
