John Warner

Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), the influential former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Thursday urged President Bush to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq to send a message that the United States is running out of patience with the government in Baghdad. Warner, who has been critical of the troop buildup ordered by Bush in January, said he was not ready to back a Democratic-led effort in Congress to order withdrawals.

Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), one of the most respected voices in Congress on military affairs, announced his retirement on Friday, delivering another blow to a GOP shaken by a spate of troubles and boosting Democratic hopes of increasing their slim Senate majority. "My work and service to Virginia as a senator will conclude on the 6th of January, 2009," the 80-year-old senator said at a news conference at the University of Virginia, with his wife, Jeanne, at his side.

Republican Sen. John W. Warner was hospitalized for the third time in a month for what his office called a "low-grade infection" related to his treatment for a minor heart problem. Doctors discovered an infection in the 80-year-old senator's thigh during a follow-up appointment at Inova Fairfax Hospital, according to a statement from Warner's office. He was admitted for treatment and observation.