WASHINGTON, May 26, 2021: CSIS president and CEO John J. Hamre today released the following statement on the passing of former senator and CSIS counselor John Warner. “We mourn the death of Senator John Warner. Senator Warner was a great supporter and friend of CSIS through many decades. Senator Warner embodied the very best of the idealism of the United States Senate. He was
From his enlistment in the Navy at age 17, to his service with the Marines in the Korean war, to his time as Secretary of the Navy, to his five terms in the United States Senate, John Warner lived an extraordinary life of service and accomplishment.
I had the privilege of serving alongside John in the Senate for three decades. The John Warner I knew was guided by two things: his conscience and our Constitution. And, when acting in accordance with both, he neither wavered in his convictions nor was concerned with the consequences.
From fighting for international rules and norms to help keep the peace among nations, to his principled stances to oppose torture and support our Armed Forces and our national security, I always knew that John’s decisions were guided by his values even when we disagreed on the policy outcomes. When told that if he voted in a way that was not in line with his party’s position as he did numerous times on issues of rational gun policy, women’s rights, a