The fall 2025 semester at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University got off to a dynamic start. In a four-day span between September 16 and 19, the school hosted events headlined by nationally recognized leaders and changemakers who delivered important addresses.
Mark Warner Delivers Warning on Deteriorating Intelligence
U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) took the Van Metre Hall Auditorium at Mason Square stage on Friday, September 19, to raise an alarm on the politicization of national and international intelligence in the Trump administration. The conversation was hosted by the Schar School’s Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security and was moderated by CNN intelligence correspondent Jim Sciutto. The event can be seen at the Hayden Center YouTube channel at this web page.
Some 125 attendees from the surrounding George Mason community arrived Friday morning to see the conversation in person, with another 200 watching on livestream. If they came for drama, they were awarded: Warner did not mince words when imparting a dire warning about the deliberate dismantling of U.S. intelligence systems that “undermine the safety of the American people.”
Warner, the longtime vice chair of the Select Committee on Intelligence, said that efforts to twist the intelligence community into serving the political needs of the White House—and to sideline those not deemed “loyal enough”—have only emboldened America’s adversaries. “If we don’t have the best people,” he said, “China especially will take advantage, making America less safe by unraveling 75 years of hard-won relationships and soft power.”
He pointed to the recent purge of 37 intelligence professionals as well as the reckless exposure of more than 300 covert officials. The pattern, he said, is clear: Punish analysts who don’t toe the line.
On Ukraine, he described funds for Kyiv being frozen, restarted, and frozen again—an erratic approach that leaves Ukrainians exasperated. Trump’s dismissal of the war as something that “doesn’t matter to the U.S.,” he said, betrays a failure to grasp history. “Do you think Putin will stop with Ukraine? His aim is to rebuild the old Soviet Union. That’s the reality we face.” An invasion of Poland is on the horizon, he said.
But the danger isn’t only abroad. He cited the removal of FBI agents tied to the January 6 investigation and warned of what a “decimated intelligence community” means for the coming U.S. elections. “The mechanics of election security in this country are being dismantled. These are not normal times.”
The fallout, including tariffs that strain the economy and drive up health care costs, is increasing a burden on American citizens. In Virginia, he said to the visible alarm of Sciutto, “expect your health insurance to go up $800 to $900 a month” in coming months.
Despite the ominous message, Schar School government and international politics major Rumaisa Obaidi, a Bangladesh native and a member of the Schar School’s First-Year Democracy Lab Learning Community, said she feels “really lucky to get opportunities like this.
”One of the things I'm really interested in doing in the future is working with intelligence or security, specifically regarding diplomatic relations,” she said. “So, Warner’s talk about how intelligence could affect the relationship with the United States and different countries was really inspiring.”
For first-year Schar School student Damien Ray, “I thought this event was really great,” he said as Warner stood nearby taking photos with visitors. “The Schar School has all these events to go to and get different perspectives. I’ve never really been interested with intelligence in the United States or that kind of policy so this was really enlightening. It’s interesting to see how it ties into a lot of policy across the board and how it affects our relations with our allies.”
Mike Pence Delivers the Constitution Day Address
Former Vice President Mike Pence commemorated the federally mandated observance of Constitution Day on September 17 at Van Metre Hall Auditorium before more than 100 attendees, including Schar School namesake Dwight Schar and former U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA and former rector of the university). Pence was also celebrating his first official day as a Schar School Distinguished Professor of Practice.
The 20-minute lecture commemorating the day the Constitution was signed in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787, was followed by 45 minutes of questions from audience members, most of whom were Schar School students.
The 39 founding delegates, Pence said, “came together on that hot summer in 1787 and said, we want to bring all the best of history together, the best understandings of human nature. We want to create a framework of limited government.”
He added the Constitution “is not a museum piece. Treat it as something vibrant. Treat it as the operating system of the freest and most prosperous nation in the history of the world and ask yourself why that's true. Read it, study it, argue about it. And most of all, commit yourself to do your part to ensure the Constitution is handed down to your children and your children's children.”
Student responses to the speech were overwhelmingly positive, with many expressing appreciation to the Schar School for the opportunity to hear the former vice president in person, including three members of the Schar School’s First-Year Democracy Lab, all pursuing majors in government and international politics.
“I like hearing his perspectives and his experience in government, even if it’s not necessarily my personal beliefs or politics,” said Victor Alvarez after the event. “I came to hear about his experience working in Washington at the Capitol and becoming vice president. I like hearing about the process.”
“I love having the opportunity to talk to people like the former vice president and just to get to know as many people as I can,” said Lucas Grannis. “I'm originally from California, so I came all the way out to the East Coast for the sole purpose of being able to be close to Washington and to have opportunities like this.”
“I think [the lecture] is really fantastic and something you can really only experience at school like George Mason,” said Matt Romano. “We’ve seen Pence twice, and [former special counsel] Jack Smith, and we’ll see Mark Warner on Friday, and that’s just one week, right? This is a testament to everything George Mason offers.”
You can see the entire Constitution Day event at the Schar School YouTube channel at this web page.
Jack Smith Delivers the Wilkins Lecture
Veteran corruption prosecutor Jack Smith, speaking September 16 at George Mason’s annual Wilkins Lecture at the Harris Theatre on the Fairfax Campus, presented overwhelming evidence that the rule of law in the United States is under serious threat.
The former Department of Justice special counsel worked the packed auditorium like a courtroom of 450 jurors, defining legal terms, citing testimony, identifying culprits, and presenting possible remedies. The verdict was a standing ovation.
See our full report at this website.