fbpx
Wikipedia

Lindsey Graham

February 15, 2024

Lindsey Olin Graham (/ɡræm/; born July 9, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A member of the Republican Party, Graham chaired the Senate Committee on the Judiciary from 2019 to 2021.

Lindsey Graham
Official portrait, 2013
United States Senator
from South Carolina
Assumed office
January 3, 2003
Serving with Tim Scott
Preceded byStrom Thurmond
Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byChuck Grassley
Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee
In office
February 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023
Preceded byBernie Sanders
Succeeded byChuck Grassley
Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee
In office
January 3, 2019 – February 3, 2021
Preceded byChuck Grassley
Succeeded byDick Durbin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Carolina's 3rd district
In office
January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2003
Preceded byButler Derrick
Succeeded byGresham Barrett
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives
from the 2nd district
In office
January 12, 1993 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byLowell Ross
Succeeded byBill Sandifer III
Personal details
Born
Lindsey Olin Graham

(1955-07-09) July 9, 1955 (age 68)
Central, South Carolina, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of South Carolina (BA, JD)
Signature
WebsiteSenate website
Campaign website
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Air Force
Years of service1982–1988 (active)
1989–1995 (South Carolina Air National Guard)
1995–2015 (reserve)
Rank Colonel
UnitU.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps
Lindsey Graham's voice
Lindsey Graham on the links between food insecurity and terrorist recruitment
Recorded May 11, 2022

A native of Central, South Carolina, Graham received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1981. Most of his active duty during his military service happened from 1982 to 1988, when he served with the Judge Advocate General's Corps in the United States Air Force, as a defense attorney and then as the Air Force's chief prosecutor in Europe, based in West Germany. Later his entire service in the U.S. Air Force Reserve ran concurrently with his congressional career. He was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in 2014 and held the rank of colonel.

Graham worked as a lawyer in private practice before serving one term in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995. He served four terms in the United States House of Representatives for South Carolina's 3rd congressional district from 1995 to 2003. In 2002, Graham won the U.S. Senate seat vacated by retiring Republican incumbent Strom Thurmond. He was reelected to a fourth term in 2020. In the Senate Graham advocates for strong national defense[1] and aggressive interventionist foreign policy.[2] Initially, he was known for his willingness to be bipartisan and work with Democrats on issues like campaign finance reform, a ban on waterboarding, cap and trade, immigration reform, and judicial nominees.[3][4][5][6][7][8] He has criticized the Tea Party movement, arguing for a more inclusive Republican Party.[7][9][10][11][12][13]

Graham sought the Republican nomination for president between June and December 2015, dropping out before the 2016 Republican primaries began.[14][2] He was an outspoken critic of Donald Trump's 2016 candidacy and repeatedly said he did not support Trump;[15] in particular, he took issue with Trump's comments on Graham's close friend, Senator John McCain.[16] After a March 2017 meeting with Trump, Graham became a staunch ally of his, often issuing public statements in his defense. His reversal caught both parties by surprise and sparked media speculation.[16][17] He became chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in January 2019,[18] and led the U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett, who was confirmed in October 2020.

Early life

Lindsey Olin Graham was born in Central, South Carolina, where his parents, Millie (Walters) and Florence James "F.J." Graham, ran a restaurant/bar/pool hall/liquor store, the Sanitary Cafe.[19][20] His family is of Scots-Irish descent.[21][22] After graduating from D. W. Daniel High School, Graham became the first member of his family to attend college, and joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. When he was 21, his mother died of Hodgkin's lymphoma, aged 52, and his father died 15 months later of a heart attack, aged 69.[21] Because his then-13-year-old sister was left orphaned, the service allowed Graham to attend the University of South Carolina in Columbia so he could remain near home as his sister's legal guardian.[12] During his studies, he became a member of the Pi Kappa Phi social fraternity.[23]

He graduated from the University of South Carolina with a B.A. in psychology in 1977, and from the University of South Carolina School of Law with a J.D. in 1981.[24]

Military service

 
Graham being robed as a judge for the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, November 2003

Upon graduating from the University of South Carolina School of Law, Graham was commissioned as an officer in the Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG Corps) in the United States Air Force in 1982 and began active duty that year. His duty began with a stint as an Air Force defense attorney, after which he was transferred to Rhein-Main Air Base in Frankfurt, Germany, where from 1984 to 1988 he was the Air Force's chief prosecutor in Europe. In 1984, as he was defending an Air Force pilot accused of using marijuana, he was featured in an episode of 60 Minutes that exposed the Air Force's defective drug-testing procedures.[21][25] After his service in Europe, he returned to South Carolina, leaving active duty in 1989[26] and entering private practice as a lawyer.[21] He served as assistant county attorney for Oconee County from 1988 to 1992 and city attorney for Central from 1990 to 1994.[27]

 
Lt. Gen. Jack L. Rives pins the Meritorious Service Medal on Colonel Lindsey Graham, April 2009

After leaving the Air Force, Graham joined the South Carolina Air National Guard in 1989, where he served until 1995, then joining the U.S. Air Force Reserve.[26]

During the 1990–1991 Gulf War, Graham was recalled to active duty, serving as a judge advocate at McEntire Air National Guard Station in Eastover, South Carolina, where he helped brief departing pilots on the laws of war.[28] In 1998, the Capitol Hill daily newspaper The Hill contended that Graham was describing himself on his website as an Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm veteran. Graham responded: "I have not told anybody I'm a combatant. I'm not a war hero, and never said I was. ... If I have lied about my military record, I'm not fit to serve in Congress", further noting that he "never deployed".[29][30]

In 1998, Graham was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In 2004, he received his promotion to colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve at a White House ceremony officiated by President George W. Bush.[31] That year, a lower court determined that Graham's service as a military judge while a sitting member of the Senate was acceptable. In 2006, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces set aside the lower court's ruling after concluding it was improper for Graham to serve as a military judge.[32]

In 2007, Graham served in Iraq as a reservist on active duty for a short period in April and for two weeks in August, where he worked on detainee and rule-of-law issues.[33] He also served in Afghanistan during the August 2009 Senate recess.[34] He was then assigned as a senior instructor at the Judge Advocate General's School, though he never went.[31]

In 2014, Graham received a Bronze Star medal for meritorious service as a senior legal adviser to the Air Force in Iraq and Afghanistan from August 2009 to July 2014, overseeing the detention of military prisoners.[1][31] In 2015, he retired at his last rank of Colonel from the Air Force with over 33 total years of service, after reaching the statutory retirement age of 60 for his rank.[35] Graham earned points toward a military pension but was unpaid as an Air Force officer while a congressman and senator as he was ineligible for a military paycheck during his time in federal government service.[31]

South Carolina House of Representatives

In 1992, Graham was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives from the 2nd district, in Oconee County. He defeated Democratic incumbent Lowell W. Ross by 60% to 40% and served one term, from 1993 to 1995.[36]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

In 1994, 20-year incumbent Democratic U.S. Congressman Butler Derrick of South Carolina's northwestern-based 3rd congressional district decided to retire. Graham ran to succeed him and, with Republican U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond campaigning on his behalf, won the Republican primary with 52% of the vote, defeating Bob Cantrell (33%) and Ed Allgood (15%).[37] In the general election, Graham defeated Democratic State Senator James Bryan Jr., 60% to 40%.[37] As a part of that year's Republican Revolution, Graham became the first Republican to represent the district since 1877.[11]

In 1996, he was challenged by Debbie Dorn, the niece of Butler Derrick and daughter of Derrick's predecessor, 13-term Democratic Congressman William Jennings Bryan Dorn. Graham was reelected, defeating Dorn 60% to 40%.[37] In 1998, he was reelected to a third term unopposed.[37] In 2000, he was reelected to a fourth term, defeating Democratic nominee George Brightharp, 68% to 30%.[37]

Tenure

In 1997, Graham took part in a leadership challenge against House Speaker Newt Gingrich.[21]

Graham speaking during Clinton's impeachment on December 18, 1998, and also discussing the grounds for impeachment of Richard Nixon and other presidents

In November 1997, Graham was one of 18 House Republicans to co-sponsor a resolution by Bob Barr that sought to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Bill Clinton.[38][39] The resolution did not specify any charges or allegations.[39] This was an early effort to impeach Clinton, predating the eruption of the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal. The eruption of that scandal ultimately led to a more serious effort to impeach Clinton in 1998.[40] On October 8, 1998, Graham voted in favor of legislation to open an impeachment inquiry.[12][41] He was a member of the Judiciary Committee, which conducted the inquiry.[42] In both the Judiciary Committee vote on forwarding proposed articles of impeachment, and the full House vote on the proposed articles of impeachment, Graham voted for three of the four proposed articles of impeachment. He voted against the second count of perjury in the Paula Jones case.[43][44][45][46] This made him the only Republican on the Judiciary Committee to vote against any of the proposed articles of impeachment.[12] During the inquiry, Graham asked, "Is this Watergate or Peyton Place?"[12][21] The House passed two of the impeachment articles.[43][44][45][46] Graham served as an House impeachment manager in the impeachment trial.[47]

Committee assignments

During his service in the House, Graham served on the following committees:

U.S. Senate

Elections

2002

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in South Carolina

In 2002, longtime U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond decided to retire. Graham ran to succeed him and won the Republican primary unopposed. In the general election, he defeated Democratic nominee Alex Sanders, the former President of the College of Charleston and former Chief Judge of the South Carolina Court of Appeals, 600,010 votes (54%) to 487,359 (44%).[48] Graham thus became South Carolina's first new U.S. senator since Fritz Hollings in 1966.[49]

2008

Main article: 2008 United States Senate election in South Carolina

When Graham ran for a second term in 2008, he was challenged in the Republican primary by National Executive Committeeman of the South Carolina Republican Party, Buddy Witherspoon. Graham defeated him by 186,398 votes (66.82%) to 92,547 (33.18%), winning all but one of South Carolina's 46 counties.[50] He then defeated the Democratic nominee, pilot and engineer Bob Conley, in the general election, 1,076,534 votes (57.53%) to 790,621 (42.25%), having outspent Conley by $6.6 million to $15,000.[51]

2014

Main article: 2014 United States Senate election in South Carolina

Of all the Republican senators up for reelection in 2014, Graham was considered one of the most vulnerable to a primary challenge, largely due to his low approval ratings and reputation for working with and compromising with Democrats.[52][53] He expected a primary challenge from conservative activists, including the Tea Party movement,[54] and Chris Chocola, President of the Club for Growth, indicated that his organization would support a primary challenge if an acceptable standard-bearer emerged.[55]

But a serious challenger to Graham failed to emerge and he was widely viewed as likely to win,[6][13][52] which has been ascribed to his "deft maneuvering" and "aggressive" response to the challenge. He befriended potential opponents from the state's congressional delegation and helped them with fundraising and securing their preferred committee assignments; he assembled a "daunting multi-million-dollar political operation" dubbed the "Graham machine" that built six regional offices across the state and enlisted the support of thousands of paid staffers and volunteers, including over 5,000 precinct captains; he assembled a "staggering" campaign war chest and "blanketed" the state with positive ads; he focused on constituent services and local issues; and he refused to "pander" to the Tea Party supporters, instead confronting them head-on, arguing that the Republican Party needed to be more inclusive.[10][11][12][13][56]

In the run-up to the Republican primary, Graham's approval rating improved. According to a February 2013 Winthrop poll, he had a 59% positive rating among likely Republican voters.[57] Graham won the June 10 primary with 178,833 votes (56.42%). His nearest challenger, State Senator Lee Bright, received 48,904 (15.4%).[58]

Graham won the general election, defeating the Democratic nominee, State Senator Brad Hutto, 54% to 39%. Independent Thomas Ravenel (a former Republican State Treasurer) and Libertarian Victor Kocher received 3.8% and 2.7% of the vote, respectively.[59]

2020

Main article: 2020 United States Senate election in South Carolina

Democrat Jaime Harrison challenged Graham in the 2020 Senate election.[60] The race was unexpectedly competitive, with many polls in the last few months of the race showing it as very close. Harrison also had record fundraising numbers. Despite this, Graham defeated Harrison by more than ten percentage points, 54.4% to 44.2%, in the November 3 general election.[61]

Committee assignments

In November 2018, Senator Chuck Grassley, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced that he would become chair of the Senate Finance Committee, and that Graham would take his place as chair of the Judiciary Committee, pending his formal selection by colleagues.[62][63][64]

 
Graham and President George W. Bush visit Charleston Air Force Base in 2007
 
U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Senators Joni Ernst, Dan Sullivan, John McCain, Tom Cotton, Lindsey Graham, and Cory Gardner attending the 2016 International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia Security Summit in Singapore

Current

Previous

Caucus memberships

Graham is a member of the board of directors of the International Republican Institute.[66]

Relationship with Donald Trump

 
Graham and Donald Trump in January 2019

In July 2015, when Graham was a presidential candidate, he called Donald Trump, then another presidential candidate, a "jackass" for saying that Graham's close friend, Senator John McCain, was "not a war hero." Trump reacted by calling Graham an "idiot" and revealing Graham's personal cellphone number at a campaign rally, asking people to call Graham.[67]

In December 2015, Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. Graham, who had very little support as a presidential candidate, responded: "He's a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot ... He doesn't represent my [Republican] party ... I don't think he has a clue about anything ... He is empowering radical Islam ... You know how you make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell." He added, "I'd rather lose without Donald Trump than try to win with him."[68]

In May 2016 Graham tweeted, "If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed...and we will deserve it."[69]

In June 2016, after Trump criticized a judge of Mexican heritage, implying he could be biased, Graham said to CNN: "I don't think [Trump is] racist but he's playing the race card ... I think it's very un-American ... If he continues this line of attack then I think people really need to reconsider the future of the [Republican] party." Graham told The New York Times that that incident "is probably it" for anyone looking to withdraw their support of Trump: "There'll come a time when the love of country will trump hatred of Hillary Clinton", the Democratic nominee for president.[70]

In the November presidential election, Graham did not vote for Trump, saying, "I couldn't go where Donald Trump wanted to take the USA & GOP." He voted for independent candidate Evan McMullin.[71]

In March 2017, Graham held a meeting with Trump. Graham said that the meeting went so well that he passed his new phone number to Trump, in reference to their 2015 conflict.[16][72] In October 2017, Graham and Trump played golf together on multiple occasions, with Graham praising the first outing.[73] In November 2017, Graham criticized the media's reporting on Trump: "What concerns me about the American press is this endless, endless attempt to label the guy some kind of kook not fit to be president." (In February 2016, Graham said of Trump: "I think he's a kook. I think he's crazy. I think he's unfit for office.")[74][75]

In April 2018, Graham said that he would support Trump's reelection in 2020.[76] In January 2019, Graham said that Republicans must support Trump's policies: "If we undercut the president, that's the end of his presidency and the end of our party."[77]

 
Graham joins President Donald Trump for swearing-in of recently confirmed Attorney General William Barr on February 14, 2019

In February 2019 Mark Leibovich interviewed Graham for The New York Times Magazine. He asked Graham how he became a prominent Trump supporter. Graham responded that he was attempting "to be relevant": "I've got an opportunity up here working with the president to get some really good outcomes for the country ... I have never been called this much by a president in my life ... He's asked me to do some things, and I've asked him to do some things in return." Graham said he had been gaining influence with Trump and was attempting to enter Trump's inner circle, where he would reach a level of influence on par with Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. He said that he had had a "political marriage" with John McCain, but as for his relationship with Trump: "I personally like him. We play golf. He's very nice to me." Graham also said that a good relationship with Trump would help his prospects of reelection to the Senate in 2020.[78]

Seven months after the death of McCain, one of Graham's "dearest friends",[79] Trump repeatedly criticized McCain. Graham was then criticized for not standing up for McCain. Graham responded, "To all those people who bring up this narrative, you just hate Trump ... You're not offended about me and McCain; you're trying to use me to get to Trump ... I'm not into this idea that the only way to honor John McCain is to trash out Trump." He also said, "The bottom line here is I'm going to help President Trump."[80] McCain had banned Trump from his funeral. Trump's daughter Ivanka attended his funeral, reportedly at the invitation of Graham, who had reportedly gotten McCain's wife's permission.[81] According to Graham, Trump called him after he delivered an emotional farewell to McCain on the Senate floor, telling him he "did right by his friend."[82]

On May 14, 2019, Graham came under scrutiny, including from Senator Joe Manchin, after encouraging Donald Trump Jr. to ignore a subpoena delivered by the Senate Intelligence Committee.[83]

In July 2019, Graham said he did not think Trump was racist and that he did not think that Trump's statements that certain Democratic congresswomen should "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came" were racist. Graham said, "I don't think a Somali refugee embracing Trump would be asked to go back. If you're racist, you want everybody to go back because they are black or Muslim."[74] Earlier in August 2018, The Washington Post reported that Graham had said, "I have never heard him make a single racist statement. Not even close."[84]

On October 8, 2019, during an interview with Jonathan Swan of Axios, Graham condemned Trump's announcement of an intention to withdraw U.S. troops from northern Syria, saying that Trump was putting the nation and his presidency at risk, and that it was without the support of key national security advisers.[85] Media focused on Graham's reversals and Trump's apparent lack of appreciation for his advice.[86]

In December 2019, as two articles of impeachment against Trump moved to a vote before the full House and referral to the Senate for trial, Graham said, "I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind. I'm not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here", adding, "this thing will come to the Senate, and it will die quickly, and I will do everything I can to make it die quickly."[87] He also announced that he held "disdain for the accusations and the process. So I don't need any witnesses" for the Senate trial.[88] In response, Democrats referenced statements Graham made during the 1998 impeachment of Bill Clinton, including his citation of Richard Nixon as proof that a president who ignored a subpoena should be impeached for taking "the power from Congress over the impeachment process away from Congress" and becoming "judge and jury" himself.[89]

Reaction to 2020 presidential election results

See also: Disputes surrounding the 2020 United States presidential election results

Even after all major news networks projected that Joe Biden had won the 2020 United States presidential election, Graham said that Trump "should not concede" because "if Republicans don't challenge and change the U.S. election system, there will never be another Republican president elected again".[90] Graham said he donated $500,000 to Trump's election lawsuits in various states,[91] and that the option should be "on the table" for Republican state legislators to invalidate election results due to alleged "corruption" by appointing presidential electors who would vote for Trump.[92]

After receiving an affidavit by Pennsylvania postal worker Richard Hopkins alleging that his postmaster discussed backdating mail ballots, Graham issued a statement that "all credible allegations of voting irregularities and misconduct be investigated to ensure the integrity of the 2020 elections", including Hopkins's.[93] Hopkins's affidavit was released by Project Veritas, a controversial conservative organization known for using deceptive tactics; Project Veritas later released a recording in which Hopkins says that he did not hear his postmaster explicitly discuss backdating ballots, and that Project Veritas wrote his affidavit for him.[94]

The 2020 United States presidential election in Georgia produced an initial count where Biden defeated Trump by around 14,000 votes, triggering a recount due to the small margin.[95] While the recount was ongoing, Graham privately called the Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger to discuss Georgia's vote counting.[95] Raffensperger, a Republican, told The Washington Post that Graham had asked Raffensperger whether Raffensperger could disqualify all mail-in ballots in counties with more signature errors.[95] Gabriel Sterling, a Republican election official and staffer to Raffensperger, was present on the call; Sterling confirmed that Graham had asked that question.[96] Raffensperger viewed Graham's question as a suggestion to throw out legally cast ballots. Graham denied suggesting this.[95] Graham acknowledged calling Raffensperger to find out how to "protect the integrity of mail-in voting" and "how does signature verification work", but said that if Raffensperger "feels threatened by that conversation, he's got a problem".[95] Graham said that he was investigating in his capacity as a senator, although he was the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.[97] He went on to claim that he had also spoken to Arizona's and Nevada's secretaries of state.[97] Those secretaries denied this, and Graham reversed himself, saying that he had spoken to the governor of Arizona and no official in Nevada.[97] The Washington Post reported in February 2021 that Fani Willis, the Fulton County, Georgia district attorney, was examining Graham's phone call to Raffensperger as part of a criminal investigation into possible efforts to illegally overturn Georgia's election results.[98]

On January 6, 2021, Graham, Vice President Mike Pence, and members of the Senate and House were evacuated from the Capitol building after Trump supporters attacked the United States Capitol. The joint session of Congress reconvened late into the night and the early morning in the Senate chamber to count and confirm the Electoral College votes. Graham spoke, disagreeing with many of his Republican colleagues, who mostly supported Trump's denials of the election's results, saying, "it's a uniquely bad idea to delay this election", and though "I hate it", they could "count me out, enough is enough". He finished by saying, "Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are lawfully elected and will become the President and the Vice President of the United States on January the 20th."[99]

In the resulting second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, Graham voted "not guilty".[100]

On May 28, 2021, Graham voted against creating the January 6 commission.[101]

In August 2021, The New York Times reported that Graham called Biden days after the election in an effort to revive their friendship and told Biden he had called for a special counsel investigation of Biden's son Hunter during the campaign only to appease Trump supporters among his constituents. A Graham spokesman disputed the Times's account.[102]

2024 election

Graham appeared at Trump's first prime-time 2024 campaign rally on January 28, 2023, and told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he would support Trump "because I know what I'm going to get", mostly regarding perceived international threats.[103]

Political positions

 
Senators Joe Biden and Lindsey Graham with Iraq's interim Prime Minister Allawi, inside the Green Zone of Baghdad, June 19, 2004

Tea Party opponents have called Graham a "moderate Republican."[9][10] He calls himself a "Reagan-style Republican", and has been called a fairly conservative Republican with "a twang of moderation" and "an independent streak."[6][21][25]

Much of the Tea Party criticism focuses on his willingness to be bipartisan and work with Democrats on issues like climate change, tax reform and immigration reform and his belief that judicial nominees should not be opposed solely because of their philosophical positions.[3][4][5][6][7][8] He voted to confirm both of President Obama's Supreme Court nominees, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.[104][105] For his part, Graham has criticized and confronted the Tea Party, arguing for a more inclusive Republican Party.[7][9][10][11][12][13] In the first session of the 115th Congress, Graham was ranked the sixth most bipartisan senator by the Lugar Center and Georgetown's McCourt School of Public Policy.[106]

We lost. President Obama won. I've got a lot of opportunity to disagree, but the Constitution, in my view, puts an obligation on me not to replace my judgment for his, not to think of the hundred reasons I would pick someone different ... I view my duty as to protect the Judiciary and to ensure that hard-fought elections have meaning in our system. I'm going to vote for her [Kagan] because I believe this election has consequences. And this president chose someone who is qualified to serve on this court and understands the difference between being a liberal judge and a politician. At the end of the day, it wasn't a hard decision ... She would not have been someone I would have chosen, but the person who did choose, President Obama, chose wisely.[105]

— Graham, explaining his vote to confirm Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court nominations

In 2016, after Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died, Republican senators boycotted Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland. Graham said that Supreme Court vacancies should never be filled in a presidential election year[107] and that "[w]e are setting a precedent today, Republicans are."[108] He said that if a similar situation arose, "you can use my words against me and you'd be absolutely right."[109] In an October 2018 interview, Graham said specifically that "[i]f an opening comes in the last year of President Trump's term, and the primary process has started, we'll wait till the next election."[110]

During the 2018 confirmation hearings following Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States, Graham took a strong stance against letting the process be further delayed by Christine Blasey Ford's allegations. Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her decades earlier when the two were in high school.[111] Speaking to reporters immediately after the Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Ford, Graham declared himself unmoved by her testimony, doubting her recollection that it was Kavanaugh who had assaulted her.[112]

When Kavanaugh testified before the committee the following day, Graham used his time to speak in Kavanaugh's defense, describing him as a victim who had been put through "hell" by "the most unethical sham" he had seen in his time in politics and that if Kavanaugh was looking for fair process, he had "c[o]me to the wrong town at the wrong time". A CNN commentator characterized Graham's speech as an "audition" for Attorney General.[113]

In 2019, Graham became chair of the Judiciary Committee.[114] In May 2020, Graham said the Senate would work to confirm a Supreme Court nominee if a vacancy arose before the November election.[115] He said "Merrick Garland was a different situation. You had the president of one party nominating, and you had the Senate in the hands of the other party. A situation where you've got them both would be different."[116] In August 2020, he said "[a]fter Kavanaugh's confirmation, the rules have changed as far as I'm concerned."[117][118]

In September 2020, Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. Within a day, Graham expressed support for the Senate immediately voting on Trump's nominee to succeed her. The New York Times called Graham's position "a complete and brazen reversal" of his earlier stance.[118] Graham said that in 2013, years before his 2016 pledge, Democrats had changed Senate rules to allow a simple majority vote for nominees to United States courts of appeals.[119][120]

Free speech

 
Graham (far right) at the signing of the Fair Sentencing Act in 2010

During an April 3, 2011, appearance on Face the Nation,[121] Graham "suggested that Congress take unspecified though formal action against the Koran-burning by Florida preacher Terry Jones", in light of an attack on United Nations personnel triggered by Jones's actions.[122] Asserting that "Congress might need to explore the need to limit some forms of freedom of speech",[123] Graham argued, "Free speech is a great idea, but we're in a war," and claimed that "during World War II, we had limits on what you could say if it would inspire the enemy."[122][124]

Gang of 14

On May 23, 2005, Graham was one of the so-called Gang of 14 senators forging a compromise that brought a halt to the continued blockage of an up-or-down vote on judicial nominees. This compromise negated both the Democrats' use of a filibuster and the Republican "nuclear option". Under the agreement, the Democrats retained the power to filibuster a Bush judicial nominee only in an "extraordinary circumstance", and subsequently, three conservative Bush appellate court nominees (Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen and William H. Pryor Jr.) received a vote by the full Senate.[125][126]

National Security Agency surveillance

In response to the 2013 disclosures about the United States National Security Agency and its international partners' global surveillance of foreign nationals and U.S. citizens, Graham said he was "glad" the NSA was collecting phone records. He said, "I'm a Verizon customer. I don't mind Verizon turning over records to the government if the government is going to make sure that they try to match up a known terrorist phone with somebody in the United States. I don't think you're talking to the terrorists. I know you're not. I know I'm not. So we don't have anything to worry about."[127][128]

On July 25, 2013, the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations unanimously adopted an amendment by Graham to the Fiscal Year 2014 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill[129] that sought sanctions against any country that offered asylum to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.[130][131][132]

Detainee interrogations

In July 2005, Graham secured the declassification and release of memoranda outlining concerns made by senior military lawyers as early as 2003 about the legality of the interrogations of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay.[133]

Of U.S. citizens accused of supporting terrorism, Graham said before the Senate, "When they say, 'I want my lawyer,' you tell them, 'Shut up. You don't get a lawyer. You are an enemy combatant, and we are going to talk to you about why you joined Al Qaeda.'"[134] In response to this and a June 2004 U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing detainees to file habeas corpus petitions to challenge their detentions, Graham authored an amendment to a Department of Defense Authorization Act[135] attempting to clarify the authority of American courts. The amendment passed in November 2005 by a vote of 49–42 in the Senate despite opposition from human rights groups and legal scholars who contended that it limited the rights of detainees.[136][137]

Graham has said he amended the Department of Defense Authorization Act in order to give military lawyers, as opposed to politically appointed lawyers, a more independent role in the oversight of military commanders. He has argued that two of the largest problems leading to the detainee abuse scandals at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib were this lack of oversight and troops' confusion over legal boundaries.[138]

Graham added that military lawyers had long observed the provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Geneva Convention, but that the Bush administration had not considered those provisions in decisions about the treatment of Guantanamo Bay detainees. He claimed that better legal oversight within the military's chain of command would prevent future detainee abuse.[139]

In February 2006, Graham joined Senator Jon Kyl in filing an amicus brief in the Hamdan v. Rumsfeld case that argued "Congress was aware" that the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 would strip the Supreme Court of jurisdiction to hear "pending cases, including this case" brought by Guantanamo detainees.[140]

In a May 2009 CNN interview, Graham referred to the domestic internment of German and Japanese prisoners of war and U.S. Citizens as a model for domestic detention of Guantanamo detainees, saying, "We had 450,000 Japanese and German prisoners housed in the United States during World War II. As a nation, we can deal with this."[141]

Immigration reform

Graham was a supporter of "comprehensive immigration reform", of S. 2611, the McCain-Kennedy Immigration Reform Bill of 2006, and of S. 1348, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007. His positions on immigration, and in particular collaborating with Senator Ted Kennedy, earned Graham the ire of conservative activists.[142] The controversy prompted conservative activists to support a primary challenge in 2008 by longtime Republican national committeeman Buddy Witherspoon,[143][144] but Graham won the nomination by a large margin.[145]　

In early 2010, Graham began working with Democratic New York Senator Chuck Schumer on immigration reform.[146] The talks broke down later that year.[147]

In July 2010, Graham suggested that U.S. citizenship as a birthright guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution should be amended, and that any children born to illegal immigrants in the United States should be considered illegal immigrants.[148] He alleged, "Half the children born in hospitals on our borders are the children of illegal immigrants."[149]

In November 2012, Graham and Schumer resumed their talks on comprehensive immigration reform.[147] On January 28, 2013, Graham was a member of a bipartisan group of eight senators that announced principles for comprehensive immigration reform.[150] On June 23, 2013, Graham said that the Senate was close to obtaining 70 votes to pass the reform package.[151]

In May 2019, Graham proposed instituting new immigration laws that would only allow migrants to apply for asylum from their home country or Mexico, smooth the process to deport unaccompanied children to Central America, and extend the period by which migrant children could be detained from 20 days to 100 days.[152]

In July 2019, Graham visited a migrant detention center in Texas. He reacted that it was not "a concentration camp" but "a facility overwhelmed". Of the migrants, Graham said, "I don't care if they have to stay in these facilities for 400 days. We're not going to let those men go that I saw. It would be dangerous."[153]

Internet and technology

In May 2018, Graham voted against legislation that would have overturned the FCC's ruling[clarification needed] and restored net neutrality.[154]

In March 2017, Graham voted for the Broadband Consumer Privacy Proposal that removed the FCC's internet privacy rules and allowed internet service providers to sell customers' browsing history without their permission.[155][non-primary source needed]

In February 2022, Graham and Richard Blumenthal introduced bipartisan legislation, as part of the EARN IT Act, to incentivize tech companies to remove child sexual abuse material (CSAM) from their platforms and remove blanket immunity for violations of laws related to online child pornography.[156][157]

Gun rights

Graham opposes extending background checks.[158] He has said, "universal background checks are going to require universal [gun] registration."[159] However, he has called current gun laws "broken", citing an example of a woman who pleaded guilty by reason of insanity to attempting to kill President George W. Bush, but who was later able to pass a background check and buy a gun.[160] To this end, in March 2013, he joined Senators Jeff Flake, Mark Begich, and Mark Pryor in introducing a bill that would close a loophole by flagging individuals who attempt to buy guns who have used an insanity defense, were ruled dangerous by a court or had been committed by a court to mental health treatment. It did not address the gun show loophole.[161]

In 2022, Graham became one of ten Republican senators to support a bipartisan agreement on gun control, which included a red flag provision, a support for state crisis intervention orders, funding for school safety resources, stronger background checks for buyers under the age of 21, and penalties for straw purchases.[162]

Health care

Graham opposed President Obama's health reform legislation; he voted against the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) in December 2009,[163] and against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.[164] He played a leading role in efforts to repeal Obamacare, authoring the Graham–Cassidy amendment to Republicans' 2017 repeal efforts. The amendment would have given states permission to remove protections for individuals with preexisting conditions, such as allowing insurers to charge them higher prices for insurance.[165]

Graham is a cosponsor of the Healthy Americans Act.[citation needed]

Vaccines

Graham criticized Senator Rand Paul after Paul said, "I've heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking, normal children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines." Graham said that Paul was "creating anxiety for no good reason" and "looking at this issue through a libertarian's eyes, not a physician's eyes".[166]

Graham continued:

As to freedom, it is cherished, it is hard to come by, it is hard to hang on to. But freedom without responsibility is chaos, so to those who push the idea that freedom would allow an individual to do anything, anywhere, at any time, I reject. Your freedom ends where my ability to raise my family safely begins. So I would urge every American to vaccinate their children and I would reject any effort to stop vaccinations until someone can show me a scientific reason to do so.

Abortion

In 2015, Graham sponsored the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act in the Senate, which bans abortion after 20 weeks of gestation on a national basis, with some exceptions (to save the life of the mother, or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest).[167] In 2018, Graham was anti-abortion, but said that Roe v. Wade is precedent that should not be overturned without good reason.[168] In 2020, he was one of 13 Republican senators who declined to sign an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to overturn Roe.[169][170]

In May 2022, Graham advocated that the Supreme Court overturn Roe to ensure that "every state will decide if abortion is legal and on what terms", as this would be "the most constitutionally sound way of dealing with this issue and the way the United States handled the issue until 1973."[171] In June 2022, he asserted that all conservatives "believed that there's nothing in the Constitution giving the federal government the right to regulate abortion".[172] In August 2022, Graham said that "states should decide the issue of abortion" and that he had "been consistent" on this.[173][174]

In September 2022, Graham introduced legislation in an attempt to institute a federal ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the patient.[175] Graham said: "This is not a states' rights issue. This is a human right issue ... I am going to advocate a national minimum standard."[176]

LGBTQ+ rights

In 1996, Graham voted for the Defense of Marriage Act,[177] which became federal law that year; it defined marriage as between one man and one woman, and enacted non-recognition of same-sex marriages at the federal level.[178] Graham reiterated his support of the Defense of Marriage Act in 2022.[179]

Graham voted to support a constitutional amendment opposing marriage between same-sex couples in 2006. He said, "I believe in the traditional definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman. Traditional marriage is an institution worth protecting and this amendment will accomplish that goal. A constitutional amendment is the only effective way to cut off the growing trend among judges to create a constitutional right to same-sex marriage."[180] After the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, Graham said that although he disagreed with the ruling, he no longer believed that a constitutional amendment was a viable action on the issue.[181]

In August 2022, after the House of Representatives approved a bill to recognize same-sex marriages at the federal level and that bill was sent to the Senate, Graham said that "states should decide the issue of marriage [...] if you're going to ask me to have the federal government take over defining marriage, I'm going to say no".[182]

Climate change

On December 10, 2009, Graham and Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman co-sponsored a letter to President Obama announcing their commitment to passing a climate change bill and outlining its framework.[183][184] Graham was identified as a potential Republican supporter of a climate change bill and thought to be a likely sponsor of the final bill,[185] but he pulled his support, saying that he disapproved of Senate Democrats moving forward with legislation to deal with immigration issues, a reaction to Arizona's passage of an illegal immigration law. Graham's withdrawal of support left passage of the climate change bill in doubt.[186]

In June 2010, Graham told reporters, "The science about global warming has changed. I think they've oversold this stuff, quite frankly. I think they've been alarmist and the science is in question. The whole movement has taken a giant step backward."[187] He also said that he planned to vote against the climate bill he had originally co-sponsored, citing further restriction of offshore drilling added to the bill and its impact on transportation.[186] In 2015, Graham said he "completely understand[s] and accept[s]" that climate change is real, but said "I don't know" the role human activity played.[188]

In 2020, Graham sponsored the Growing Climate Solutions Act, a bill that would make it simpler for farmers to sell carbon credits on existing carbon trading markets in California and in the Northeast.[189]

In November 2023, Graham and Bill Cassidy co-sponsored the Foreign Pollution Fee Act. Endorsed by the Sierra Club, the bill (S. 3198; referred to the Senate Finance Committee) proposed imposing a carbon tariff on energy and industrial imports based on the good's emission intensity or carbon footprint as compared with the same domestic good to impose a carbon price on goods from countries with greater greenhouse gas emissions than the United States.[190][191][192]

 
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen meets with Senators Graham, John McCain, Tom Cotton, John Barrasso, Cory Gardner, Joni Ernst, and Dan Sullivan in June 2016.

Foreign policy

Graham supports an interventionist foreign policy.[193] In 2002, he voted for the Iraq Resolution, which authorized military action against Iraq.[194] He also supported the invasion of Iraq.[195] Graham and Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman, who were frequently dubbed "the three amigos", traveled widely, pushing for American military intervention, particularly after the September 11 attacks. Their influence reached its zenith in 2007 as President Bush advocated for his surge strategy in Iraq, declining shortly before Lieberman retired from the Senate in 2013.[196][197] Kelly Ayotte, who joined the Senate in 2011, was considered Lieberman's replacement in the group.[198][199]

Graham was a frequent critic of the foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration. He threatened to derail the confirmation of Obama's nominee for secretary of defense, Republican former Senator Chuck Hagel, a centrist.[200] Graham remarked that Hagel "would be the most antagonistic secretary of defense towards the state of Israel in our nation's history."[201]

On February 28, 2013, Graham criticized Obama and both political parties on the Senate floor for allowing the budget reduction to occur with "two-thirds of the budget" exempt from reductions and said the impact on the Department of Defense would create a "hollow military" that "invites aggression".[202][203][204][205]

War in Afghanistan

 
John McCain and Lindsey Graham, along with Lt. Gen. Richard P. Mills, in Afghanistan, 2010
Main article: War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

Graham suggested that the U.S. stay in Afghanistan permanently, claiming that this would benefit both nations, as the U.S. would have a clear idea of what was happening in the region on a daily basis, and Afghan security forces would have an edge militarily to ensure that Afghanistan never fell back into the hands of the Taliban.[206] He further claimed that Afghan leaders accept this long-term U.S. military presence since it benefits them, but Iran and some of its allies oppose it, a debatable claim.[207]

Graham vehemently opposed Joe Biden's plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan. He suggested that this plan puts the U.S. in danger and could cause "another 9/11".[208] Soon after the withdrawal of U.S. troops started, the Taliban launched an offensive against the Afghan government, quickly advancing in front of a collapsing Afghan Armed Forces.[209] On July 8, 2021, Graham called President Biden's decision a "disaster in the making."[210]

Iran

On November 6, 2010, Graham called for a preemptive military strike to weaken the Iranian regime.[211] In 2011, he supported a continuing U.S. military presence in Iraq, saying, "If we're not smart enough to work with the Iraqis to have 10,000 to 15,000 American troops in Iraq in 2012, Iraq could go to hell."[212]

On an episode of Fox and Friends, Graham joked that it would be "terrible" if a DNA test showed he had Iranian ancestry. Co-host Brian Kilmeade responded, "Well, they have great people, just bad leaders," which Graham confirmed.[213][214] The president of the National Iranian American Council[214] and a number of high-profile Iranian-Americans criticized Graham's comments.[215][213]

During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, Graham called for the U.S. to threaten Iran's oil infrastructure if the conflict escalated.[216] In a CNN interview, he called for the U.S. and Israel to bomb Iran even if it wasn't involved in Hamas's attack on Israel. He also said that the U.S. would win a war with Iran if it broke out.[217]

Russia

 
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko presents the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise to Graham, December 30, 2016

In December 2010, Graham was one of 26 senators to vote against the ratification of New Start,[218] a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the U.S. and the Russian Federation obliging both countries to have no more than 1,550 strategic warheads or 700 launchers deployed during the next seven years along with providing a continuation of on-site inspections that halted when START I expired the previous year. It was the first arms treaty with Russia in eight years.[219]

In August 2011, Graham co-sponsored a resolution that contended that "Russia's invasion of Georgian land in 2008 was an act of aggression, not only to Georgia but to all new democracies."[citation needed]

On July 16, 2013, Graham suggested the United States should consider boycotting the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, because of "what the Russian government is doing throughout the world".[220]

Russo-Ukrainian War

On March 3, 2022, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Graham tweeted, "The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out", referring to Vladimir Putin. The tweet, which was viewed as suggesting that a Russian resident should assassinate Putin, drew backlash from American politicians, who condemned the idea and proposed heavier sanctions instead.[221]

On May 26, 2023, the Office of the President of Ukraine released an edited video showing Graham talking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and remarking that "the Russians are dying", followed by a comment that the American military assistance to Ukraine was the "best money we've ever spent".[222][223] In response, Graham was sharply criticized by the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev. The Office of the President of Ukraine later released the unedited version of the interview, clarifying that Graham's two remarks were unrelated.[224][225]

On May 29, 2023, the Russian Interior Ministry issued an arrest warrant for Graham for his comments about the war. In response, Graham tweeted that the news brought him "immense joy" and that he would "wear the arrest warrant issued by Putin's corrupt and immoral government as a Badge of Honor".[226] In a follow-up tweet, Graham added that he would submit to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court should Russia attempt to serve the warrant.[227]

Libya

Graham supported the NATO-led military intervention in Libya.[228] On January 29, 2013, Graham said that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "got away with murder" after her testimony about the 2012 Benghazi attack,[229] but the next year he said that the House Intelligence Committee report on Benghazi was "full of crap" and that the Obama administration had been cleared of many of the charges therein.[230][231][232]

Israel/Palestine

 
Graham attended the opening of the U.S. Embassy to Israel in Jerusalem in May 2018
 
Graham with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu on March 15, 2019

On January 5, 2017, Graham condemned Obama for abstaining from UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which condemned Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem as a violation of international law.[233]

On March 11, 2019, Graham said he would encourage the Trump administration to recognize the Golan Heights as part of Israel.[234]

On October 10, 2023, Graham tweeted that he "unapologetically stand[s] with Israel" during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.[235] He called the conflict a "religious war" and said that Gaza should be "flattened".[236] On October 31, 2023, Graham said that no amount of civilian casualties in Gaza would lead him to question Israel's goal of eradicating Hamas.[237][238]

Venezuela

In May 2019, Graham called for a military invasion of Venezuela to overthrow Nicolás Maduro amid the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis.[239]

Niger

In October 2017, in the wake of the Tongo Tongo ambush, which killed four U.S. soldiers, Graham said, "I didn't know there was a thousand troops in Niger."[240] A few days later, he called for an expanded role of the U.S. military in Niger: "You're going to see more actions in Africa, not less; you're going to see more aggression by the United States toward our enemies, not less; you're going to have decisions being made not in the White House but out in the field."[241]

Syria

In July 2018, Graham and Senator Jeanne Shaheen visited Manbij in Syria and met the Manbij Military Council, which led an offensive to liberate the city from ISIS in 2016 with help from the US-led coalition.[242]

Saudi Arabia

In March 2015, Graham supported the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen,[243] saying, "We want to have a relationship with Saudi Arabia. They're a strategic partner. They're a mortal enemy of the Iranians."[244] In June 2019, he was one of seven Republicans to vote to block Trump's Saudi arms deal providing weapons to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Jordan, and one of five Republicans to vote against an additional 20 arms sales.[245] In late 2019, Graham took a warmer approach toward Saudi Arabia. He praised the Trump administration for sending thousands of additional troops to Saudi Arabia to counter Iran's threat.[246] He also praised Saudi Arabia for opening its airspace to Israeli flights.[247]

Turkey

In October 2019, Graham said he would "introduce bipartisan sanctions against Turkey if they invade Syria" and that he would "call for their suspension from NATO if they attack Kurdish forces who assisted the US in the destruction of the ISIS Caliphate."[248]

Armenian genocide

In November 2019, Graham blocked a Senate resolution to officially recognize the Armenian genocide.[249] In December 2019, he voted for the resolution, which passed the Senate unanimously.[250]

Robert Mueller's investigation

Main articles: Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and Mueller special counsel investigation

In January 2018, and in the first known congressional criminal referral in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, Graham and Chuck Grassley recommended charges against ex-MI6 officer Christopher Steele, named as author of the Steele dossier.[251] Grassley and Graham said that they had reason to believe that Steele had lied to federal authorities.[251] According to The New York Times, "It was not clear why, if a crime is apparent in the F.B.I. reports that were reviewed by the Judiciary Committee, the Justice Department had not moved to charge Mr. Steele already. The circumstances under which Mr. Steele is alleged to have lied were unclear, as much of the referral was classified."[251]

In April 2018, after the FBI raid on the hotel room and offices of Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, Graham, Cory Booker, Chris Coons, and Thom Tillis introduced new legislation to "limit President Trump's ability to fire special counsel Robert Mueller." Termed the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, the legislation would allow any special counsel, in this case Mueller, receive an "expedited judicial review" in the 10 days after being dismissed to determine whether the dismissal was appropriate. If not, the special counsel would be reinstated. At the same time, according to The Hill, the bill would "codify regulations" that a special counsel could only be fired by a senior Justice Department official, having to provide reasons in writing.[252]

On March 14, 2019, Graham blocked a resolution calling for Mueller's report to be made public after it passed the House unanimously.[253]

After Mueller's testimony to two congressional committees on July 24, 2019, Graham speculated that "the Mueller report is in name only. It clearly wasn't the Mueller report. It was just in name."[254] On June 25, 2019, Graham said, "The president gave 1.4 million documents to Mueller. [Don] McGahn, his lawyer, testified for 30 hours. He made everybody available to Mueller that Mueller wanted to talk to, and he... answered questions in writing, so this president did nothing to stop Mueller from finding the truth."[255]

Taxation

Although Graham signed Grover Norquist's Taxpayer Protection Pledge in June 2012, he went on record supporting the closure of tax loopholes without compensating decreases in other tax revenue, saying, "We're so far in debt that if you don't give up some ideological ground, the country sinks."[256]

Trade

The Cato Institute's Center for Trade Policy Studies identifies Graham, during his U.S. House and U.S. Senate tenure, as having a mostly protectionist and pro-subsidies voting record.[257][258]

2015 Charleston church shooting and Confederate flag issue

After a mass shooting at a historic African American church in Charleston on June 17, 2015, Graham canceled all campaign events to return to South Carolina. In response to questions from the press regarding the calls from some to remove the Confederate flag at a war memorial on the South Carolina State Capitol grounds, Graham said, "Well, at the end of the day it's time for people in South Carolina to revisit that decision. [That] would be fine with me, but this is part of who we are." He continued, "The flag represents to some people a civil war, and that was the symbol of one side. To others it's a racist symbol, and it's been used by people—it's been used in a racist way."[259] Of the shooter responsible for the incident, Graham said, "We're not going to give this a guy an excuse about a book he might have read, or a movie he watched, or a song he listened to, or a symbol out anywhere. It's him ... not the flag."[260]

In a statement issued later, Graham said, "There can be no doubt that the shooting ... was racially motivated and signals to all of us that the scars of our history are still with us today. This murderer said he wanted to start a race war; he has failed miserably. In Charleston this weekend, I saw a community coming together. I saw people seeking solace in what they share together, not in what makes them different."[261]

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

Graham was among the 31 Senate Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.[262]

Campaign contributions

In 2016, The Boston Globe reported that Graham was "the only Republican recipient of money from a major Democratic donor now facing scrutiny for some questionable campaign donation habits."[263] The Thornton Law Firm is nationally known for its expertise in asbestos-related litigation. Over a ten-year period, Graham received $62,800 in campaign contributions from the firm's partners. The Boston Globe found that the firm, in almost every case, would reimburse partners' political contributions—in the exact amount[263]—within 10 days of the contributions being made. Between 2010 and 2014, the firm's partners and one of their wives contributed $1.6 million to politicians; $1.4 million was given back to the partners from the firm. The firm told reporters that according to outside consultants the practice was not unlawful because the checks are not bonuses, instead coming out of the partners' firm equity accounts.[263]

A spokesman for Graham said that Graham would return the money he received from the firm's lawyers if the law firm were indicted or convicted on corruption charges.[263]

Presidential politics

Main article: Lindsey Graham 2016 presidential campaign
 
Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Senators John McCain, John Barrasso and Lindsey Graham in Jerusalem on January 3, 2014

Graham supported John McCain for president in 2000 and served as national co-chair of McCain's 2008 presidential campaign.[11][264]

In 2012, Graham's endorsement was highly sought,[265] but he declined to endorse a Republican candidate before the January South Carolina Republican primary.[266] After Rick Santorum withdrew from the race in April 2012, leaving Mitt Romney as the presumptive nominee, Graham endorsed Romney.[267]

During his Senate reelection race in October 2014, while discussing immigration and foreign policy issues with a reporter from The Weekly Standard, Graham said, "If I get through my general election, if nobody steps up in the presidential mix, if nobody's out there talking ... I may just jump in to get to make these arguments."[268] On March 7, 2015, at a "Politics and Pies" forum, Graham advocated the reversal of defense spending cuts and quipped: "If I were President of the United States, I wouldn't let Congress leave town until we fix this. I would literally use the military to keep them in if I had to."[269]

On April 19, 2015, Graham told Chris Wallace, on the Fox News Sunday show, that he was "91% sure" he would run for president. "If I can raise the money, I'll do it," he said.[270] On May 18, 2015, Graham informally announced that he would run for president on CBS This Morning, saying he was running because he thinks "the world is falling apart."[271]

Graham announced his candidacy for President on June 1, 2015.[272]

On December 21, 2015, Graham suspended his presidential campaign, due to lack of support and poor polling, and on January 15, 2016, endorsed former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.[273] After it appeared certain that Donald Trump would become the Republican nominee in May 2016, Graham announced that he would not vote for Trump or Hillary Clinton, commenting: "I think Donald Trump is going to places where very few people have gone and I'm not going with him."[274] On November 8, 2016, Graham announced that he had voted for Evan McMullin.[275]

Electoral history

South Carolina's 3rd congressional district: results 1994–2000[276]
Year Democratic Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd party Party Votes Pct
1994 James E. Bryan Jr. 59,932 40% Lindsey Graham 90,123 60% *
1996 Debbie Dorn 73,417 39% Lindsey Graham (incumbent) 114,273 60% Lindal Pennington Natural Law 1,835 1%
1998 (no candidate) Lindsey Graham (incumbent) 129,047 100% Write-ins 402 <1%
2000 George Brightharp 67,170 30% Lindsey Graham (incumbent) 150,180 68% Adrian Banks Libertarian 3,116 1% *

*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1994, write-ins received 13 votes. In 2000, Natural Law candidate LeRoy J. Klein received 1,122 votes and write-ins received 33 votes. George Brightharp ran under both the Democratic and United Citizens Parties and received 2,253 votes on the United Citizen line.

Senate elections in South Carolina (Class II): results 2002–2014[276]
Year Democratic Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd party Party Votes Pct 3rd party Party Votes Pct
2002 Alex Sanders 487,359 44% Lindsey Graham 600,010 54% Ted Adams Constitution 8,228 1% Victor Kocher Libertarian 6,648 1% *
2008 Bob Conley 785,559 42% Lindsey Graham (incumbent) 1,069,137 58% Write-ins 608 <1%
2014 Brad Hutto 480,933 39% Lindsey Graham (incumbent) 672,941 54% Thomas Ravenel Independent 47,588 4% Victor Kocher Libertarian 33,839 3% *
2020 Jaime Harrison 1,110,828 44% Lindsey Graham (incumbent) 1,369,137 54% Bill Bledsoe Constitution 32,845 1%

Primary elections

2008 United States Senate Republican primary election in South Carolina[277]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Lindsey Graham (incumbent) 187,736 66.84%
Republican Buddy Witherspoon 93,125 33.16%
Total votes 280,861 100.00%
2014 United States Senate Republican primary election in South Carolina[278]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Lindsey Graham (incumbent) 178,833 56.42%
Republican Lee Bright 48,904 15.43%
Republican Richard Cash 26,325 8.30%
Republican Det Bowers 23,172 7.31%
Republican Nancy Mace 19,634 6.19%
Republican Bill Connor 16,912 5.34%
Republican Benjamin Dunn 3,209 1.01%
Total votes 316,989 100.00%
2020 United States Senate Republican primary election in South Carolina[279]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Lindsey Graham (incumbent) 317,512 67.69%
Republican Michael LaPierre 79,932 17.04%
Republican Joe Reynolds 43,029 9.17%
Republican Duke Buckner 28,570 6.09%
Total votes 469,043 100.00%

Personal life

Graham helped raise his sister, Darline Graham Nordone, after the deaths of his mother and father, which occurred within 15 months of each other,[280] leaving the two without parents when Graham was 22 and she was 13. Graham has said that his parents' early deaths made him mature more quickly, and Nordone, who introduced her brother at his 2016 announcement of his candidacy for president, said she hoped to be with him on the campaign trail frequently to show voters his softer side. "He's kind of like a brother, a father and a mother rolled into one," she said. "I've always looked up to Lindsey."[281]

Having never married or had children,[11] Graham has said, "I never found time to meet the right girl, or the right girl was smart enough not to have time for me." According to his memoir, while in law school, he had a girlfriend named Debbie, and two more during his time in the Air Force in Germany: a JAG officer named Carol who later served on Colin Powell's staff, and a flight attendant named Sylvia, whom he considered proposing to.[282] He has denied being gay.[283]

Graham lives in Seneca, South Carolina. A Southern Baptist, he is a member of the Corinth Baptist Church.[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Whitlock, Craig (May 31, 2015). "5 Things You Should Know About Lindsey Graham". NPR. from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Dann, Carrie (December 21, 2015). "South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham Ends Republican Presidential Bid". NBC News. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Martin, Jonathan (May 9, 2013). "Lindsey Graham faces down primary challenge". Politico. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Podgers, James (August 5, 2012). "Sen. Lindsey Graham: Qualifications of Judicial Nominees Should Count More Than Politics". ABA Journal. Chicago, Illinois: American Bar Association. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Maass, Harold (May 9, 2013). "Is Lindsey Graham going to get primaried?". The Week. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d Killian, Linda (June 10, 2014). "Lindsey Graham vs. the Tea Party". The Wall Street Journal. New York City. from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  7. ^ a b c d Jonsson, Patrik (June 11, 2014). "The un-Cantor: Sen. Lindsey Graham wins by poking eye of tea party (+video)". The Christian Science Monitor. Boston, Massachusetts. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  8. ^ a b Altman, Alex (November 5, 2013). "Lindsey Graham: The Bipartisan Dealmaker Finds Issues to Please GOP Base". Time. New York City. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  9. ^ a b c Wagstaff, Keith (August 26, 2013). "Can Lindsey Graham survive the Tea Party's wrath?". The Week. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  10. ^ a b c d Raju, Manu (April 23, 2014). "How Lindsey Graham outmaneuvered the tea party". Politico. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Draper, Robert (July 1, 2010). "Lindsey Graham, This Year's Maverick". The New York Times. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Ball, Molly (June 10, 2014). "How Lindsey Graham Stomped the Tea Party". The Atlantic. Boston, Massachusetts. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  13. ^ a b c d Murphy, Patricia (June 10, 2014). "Lindsey Graham's Tea Party Teflon". The Daily Beast. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  14. ^ Rappeport, Alan (June 21, 2015). "Lindsey Graham Announces Presidential Bid". The New York Times. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  15. ^ Hains, Tim (June 7, 2016). "Lindsey Graham Takes The Off-Ramp: "I'm Not Supporting Mr. Trump"". RealClearPolitics (citing NBC news). from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  16. ^ a b c Miller, Lisa (September 16, 2018). "The "Little Jerk" Once defined by his loathing for Trump, Lindsey Graham is now all-in for the president. Why?". New York. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  17. ^ Parker, Kathleen (January 15, 2019). "What did they do with Lindsey Graham?". The Washington Post. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  18. ^ "Senate Judiciary Committee sets confirmation hearing for Trump attorney general pick William Barr". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  19. ^ Summers, Juana (June 28, 2015). "Presidential Aspiration Born From A Modest, And Tragic, Beginning". NPR. Retrieved January 7, 2021. first lived in a room behind his family's business, the Sanitary Café ...
  20. ^ Hawes, Jennifer Berry (November 6, 2020). "An unlikely ascent Love, loss, loyalty, law shape his brand of retail politics Last in polls, last in debates. How long does he go on?". Post and Courier. Retrieved January 7, 2021. His dad, Florence James Graham...He and his wife Millie ran the bar...
  21. ^ a b c d e f g Grove, Lloyd (October 7, 1998). "Lindsey Graham, a Twang of Moderation". The Washington Post. Washington, DC. from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  22. ^ "Millie Walters Graham, 1976, obituary, South Carolina". The Greenville News. June 11, 1976. p. 10. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  23. ^ "Notable Pi Kapps". pikapp.org. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  24. ^ . The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  25. ^ a b "Plain talk from GOP senator". The Baltimore Sun. May 11, 2004. from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  26. ^ a b c "Biography". lgraham.senate.gov. Office of Senator Lindsey Graham. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  27. ^ "Lindsey Graham Fast Facts". CNN. Atlanta, GA. November 9, 2020.
  28. ^ . The Experience Festival. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
  29. ^ "S.C. Rep. Gulf War Past Questioned". Associated Press. February 19, 1998. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  30. ^ Pareene, Alex (May 20, 2010). "Lindsey Graham's war lie: Bigger than Richard Blumenthal's". Salon. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  31. ^ a b c d Whitlock, Craig (August 2, 2015). "Sen. Graham moved up in Air Force Reserve ranks despite light duties". The Washington Post. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  32. ^ 60 M.J. 781 (C.A.A.F. 2004), as referenced in United States v. Lane, 05-0260 (Armed Forces App. September 20, 2006).
  33. ^ Wright, Robin (August 28, 2007). "After Tour of Duty in Iraq, Graham Backs 'Surge'". The Washington Post. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  34. ^ Day, Thomas L. (September 6, 2009). . The Sun News. Archived from the original on September 14, 2009. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
  35. ^ Bradner, Eric (May 30, 2015). "Lindsey Graham retires from Air Force ahead of expected White House run". CNN. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  36. ^ (PDF). Columbia: South Carolina Election Commission. 1993. p. 96. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 2, 2022.
  37. ^ a b c d e "SC State House 002". ourcampaigns.com. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  38. ^ Pace, David (November 6, 1997). "17 in House seek probe to impeach president". Newspapers.com. The Record. The Associated Press. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  39. ^ a b Hutcheson, Ron (November 17, 1997). "Some House Republicans can't wait for elections". Newspapers.com. Asheville Citizen-Times. Knight-Rider Newspapers.
  40. ^ Barkham, Patrick (November 18, 1998). "Clinton impeachment timeline". The Guardian. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  41. ^ "Roll Call 498 Roll Call 498, Bill Number: H. Res. 581, 105th Congress, 2nd Session". clerk.house.gov. Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. October 8, 1998. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  42. ^ . Bloomberg Businessweek. February 27, 2005. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  43. ^ a b "Roll Call 546 Roll Call 546, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. December 19, 1998. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  44. ^ a b "Roll Call 545 Roll Call 545, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. December 19, 1998. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  45. ^ a b "Roll Call 544 Roll Call 544, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. December 19, 1998. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  46. ^ a b Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (December 19, 1998). "Roll Call 543 Roll Call 543, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved March 6, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  47. ^ "Prosecution Who's Who". The Washington Post. January 14, 1999. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  48. ^ Trandahl, Jeff (2003). Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002. Washington, D.C.: United States House of Representatives. p. 42.
  49. ^ "SC – Election Results". enr-scvotes.org. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2008.
  50. ^ "Statewide Results - 2008 Republican and Democratic Primary". South Carolina State Election Commission. June 27, 2008. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  51. ^ "South Carolina Senate 2008 Race". OpenSecrets.org. OpenSecrets. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  52. ^ a b Kludt, Tom (April 8, 2014). "Lindsey Graham Faces Big – But Weak – Field of Challengers". NBC News. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  53. ^ Kludt, Tom (October 30, 2013). "Poll: Lindsey Graham's Approval Rating Tumbles In S.C". Talking Points Memo. from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  54. ^ Rosen, James (February 19, 2012). "Graham: 'I expect' a primary challenge". The State. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  55. ^ Sullivan, Sean (September 20, 2012). "Lindsey Graham, 2014 target?". The Washington Post. from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  56. ^ Martin, Jonathan (June 10, 2014). "In South Carolina, Graham Prevails Without a Runoff". The New York Times. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  57. ^ Clement, Scott (February 26, 2014). "Poll: Lindsey Graham trouncing crowded primary field". The Washington Post. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  58. ^ "South Carolina Primary Election Results". The New York Times. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  59. ^ "SC – Election Results". enr-scvotes.org.
  60. ^ Fearnow, Benjamin (December 15, 2019). "Lindsey Graham's Democratic Challenger Nearly Tied in Heavily-Republican South Carolina, Poll Shows". Newsweek. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  61. ^ Graham fends off Harrison in South Carolina Senate race November 17, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Politico, November 3, 2020.
  62. ^ Swoyer, Alex; Dinan, Stephen (November 16, 2018). "Lindsey Graham poised to become Judiciary chairman; Chuck Grassley moves to Finance". The Washington Times. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  63. ^ Merlino, John J. (March 30, 2023). "Committee and Subcommittee Assignments for the One Hundred Eighteenth Congress" (PDF). U.S. Government Publishing Office. (PDF) from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  64. ^ . www.senate.gov. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  65. ^ "Lindsey Graham Republican (Elected 2003), SC Senate district". MapLight. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  66. ^ . iri.org. International Republican Institute. Archived from the original on April 28, 2010. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
  67. ^ Moody, Chris (July 22, 2015). "Donald Trump gave out Lindsey Graham's personal cell number to America". CNN. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  68. ^ Kopan, Tal (December 8, 2015). "Lindsey Graham: 'Tell Donald Trump to go to hell'". CNN. from the original on July 19, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  69. ^ "Graham calls Biden 'lawfully' elected, says 'enough is enough' following breach of Capitol". Fox News. January 8, 2021. (erroneously says the tweet was in 2015).
  70. ^ Raju, Manu; Scott, Eugene; Walsh, Deirdre (June 7, 2016). "Graham: Trump's judge comments 'un-American'". CNN. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  71. ^ Wang, Amy (November 9, 2019). "Sen. Lindsey Graham: 'I voted Evan McMullin for president'". The Washington Post. from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  72. ^ Quigley, Aidan (July 3, 2019). "Graham: I gave my new phone number to Trump". Politico. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  73. ^ Feit, Noah (October 14, 2017). "Graham had such a good time golfing with Trump, they played again Saturday". The State. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  74. ^ a b Kwong, Jessica (July 18, 2019). "Lindsey Graham says Donald Trump's not racist, but called him a 'race-baiting bigot' in 2015". Newsweek. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  75. ^ Shugerman, Emily (December 1, 2017). "Senior Republican's attack on the media's portrayal of Trump massively backfires". The Independent. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  76. ^ Bryd, Caitlin (April 19, 2018). "Lindsey Graham and Henry McMaster promise to back Trump in 2020 bid". The Post and Courier. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  77. ^ McLeod, Paul (January 15, 2019). "What The Hell Happened To Lindsey Graham?". BuzzFeed News. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  78. ^ Leibovich, Mark (February 25, 2019). "How Lindsey Graham Went From Trump Skeptic to Trump Sidekick". The New York Times Magazine. from the original on June 6, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  79. ^ Watson, Kathryn (August 25, 2018). "The lasting friendship of John McCain and Lindsey Graham". CBS News. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  80. ^ Zhao, Christina (March 27, 2019). "Lindsey Graham says people angry over Trump's McCain attacks 'don't really care:' 'You just hate Trump'". Newsweek. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  81. ^ Rogers, Katie (September 1, 2018). "Washington Mourned John McCain. President Trump Played Golf". The New York Times. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  82. ^ Stracqualursi, Veronica (August 28, 2019). "Graham says Trump called him after McCain tribute speech". CNN. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  83. ^ Cummings, William (May 14, 2019). "'This is not the Lindsey I know': Graham takes heat for advising Trump Jr. to ignore subpoena". USA Today. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  84. ^ Gearan, Anne; Kim, Seung Min; Dawsey, Josh (August 11, 2018). "Trump condemns 'all types of racism' after a week of racially tinged remarks". The Washington Post. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  85. ^ Allen, Mike (October 9, 2019). "Lindsey Graham on Trump: "He's putting the nation at risk"". Axios. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  86. ^ Sykes, Charles (October 7, 2019). "The Humiliation of Lindsey Graham". Politico. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  87. ^ Stracqualursi, Veronica (December 14, 2019). "'I'm not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here': Graham predicts Trump impeachment will 'die quickly' in Senate". CNN. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  88. ^ "Republican tactics spark Democratic claims that impeachment trial is rigged". CNN. December 16, 2019. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  89. ^ Thuman, Scott (October 10, 2019). "The legal fight over impeachment continues". WJLA. Sinclair Broadcast Group. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  90. ^ Mastrangelo, Nick (November 8, 2020). "Graham: If Trump concedes election, Republicans will 'never' elect another president". The Hill. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  91. ^ Luna, Kaitlyn (November 6, 2020). "Lindsey Graham donates $500K toward President Trump's legal battle in key battleground states". WBTW. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  92. ^ Otterbein, Holly (November 11, 2020). "Pennsylvania GOP rallies to Trump's defense". Politico. from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  93. ^ Castronuovo, Celine (November 7, 2020). "Graham vows Senate Judiciary will investigate 'voting irregularities'". The Hill. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  94. ^ Boburg, Shawn; Bogage, Jacob; Bennett, Dalton (November 12, 2020). "Audio recording shows Pa. postal worker recanting ballot-tampering claim". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  95. ^ a b c d e Garder, Amy. "Ga. secretary of state says fellow Republicans are pressuring him to find ways to exclude ballots". The Washington Post. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  96. ^ Gregorian, Dareh; Clark, Dartunorro (November 18, 2020). "Georgia officials spar with Sen. Lindsey Graham over alleged ballot tossing comments". NBC News. Associated Press. from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  97. ^ a b c Kane, Paul (November 17, 2020). "Lindsey Graham's one-man voting probe prompts confusion". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  98. ^ Gardner, Amy; Hamburger, Tom; Dawsey, Josh. "Graham's post-election call with Raffensperger will be scrutinized in Georgia probe, person familiar with inquiry says". The Washington Post.
  99. ^ "Senator Graham on Arizona Objection". C-SPAN. January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  100. ^ "Sen. Lindsey Graham releases statement on acquittal of President Trump in second impeachment trial". www.wtoc.com. WTOC. February 13, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  101. ^ "Which senators supported a Jan. 6 Capitol riot commission". Washington Post. May 28, 2021.
  102. ^ Thrush, Glenn; Becker, Jo; Hakim, Danny (August 14, 2021). "Tap Dancing With Trump: Lindsey Graham's Quest for Relevance". The New York Times. from the original on August 14, 2021.
  103. ^ Bort, Ryan (January 31, 2023). "Lindsey Graham Makes Desperate Case for Trump as 2024 Bid Sputters". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  104. ^ Kady II, Martin (July 23, 2009). "Graham a 'yes' on Sotomayor". Politico. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  105. ^ a b Allan, Nicole (July 20, 2010). "Lindsey Graham Dramatically Casts His Vote for Elena Kagan". The Atlantic. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  106. ^ "The Lugar Center - McCourt School Bipartisan Index" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: The Lugar Center. April 24, 2018. (PDF) from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  107. ^ Ankel, Sophia (September 19, 2020). "'Use my words against me': A 2016 video of Lindsey Graham saying a Supreme Court vacancy should never be filled in an election year is going viral". Business Insider. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  108. ^ Connelly, Eileen AJ (September 19, 2020). "Sen. Graham reverses earlier statements, supports Trump filling SCOTUS vacancy". New York Post. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  109. ^ Naughtie, Andrew (September 19, 2020). "Lindsey Graham repeatedly insisted that Supreme Court vacancies shouldn't be filled in election years". The Independent. from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  110. ^ Schwartz, Matthew (September 19, 2020). "'Use My Words Against Me': Lindsey Graham's Shifting Position On Court Vacancies". NPR. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  111. ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (September 16, 2018). "Kavanaugh's Nomination in Turmoil as Accuser Says He Assaulted Her Decades Ago". The New York Times. from the original on January 4, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  112. ^ "After Ford's testimony, Sen. Graham says he feels 'ambushed'". ABC News. from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  113. ^ "Lindsey Graham erupts during Kavanaugh hearing". CNN. October 1, 2018. from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  114. ^ Sullivan, Sean; Kim, Seung Min (September 20, 2020). "Graham — an institutionalist turned Trump loyalist — will play a central role in Supreme Court battle". The Washington Post. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  115. ^ Axelrod, Tal (September 19, 2020). "Graham signals support for confirming a Supreme Court nominee this year". The Hill. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  116. ^ Axelrod, Tal (May 16, 2020). "Graham on potential Supreme Court vacancy: 'This would be a different circumstance' than Merrick Garland". The Hill. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  117. ^ Kapur, Sahil (August 3, 2020). "Democrats warn GOP: Don't fill a Supreme Court vacancy in 2020". NBC News. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  118. ^ a b Edmondson, Catie (September 21, 2020). "'You Would Do the Same': Graham Is Defiant on Supreme Court Reversal". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  119. ^ Fortier-Benson, Tony (September 19, 2020). "Sen. Lindsey Graham says he will support Trump's SCOTUS pick for two reasons". WLOS. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  120. ^ Baker, Peter; Haberman, Maggie (September 19, 2020). "Trump Presses for New Justice 'Without Delay' as Election-Season Battle Looms". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  121. ^ Mataconis, Doug (April 3, 2011). "Lindsey Graham On Koran Burning: "Freedom Of Speech Is A Great Idea But We're In A War."". Outside the Beltway. from the original on January 11, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  122. ^ a b Greenwald, Glenn (April 4, 2011). "The most uncounted cost of Endless War". Salon. from the original on September 4, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  123. ^ Sullivan, Andrew (April 3, 2011). "Free Speech Is A Great Idea, But ..." The Atlantic. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  124. ^ Hunter, Jack (April 7, 2011). . The American Conservative. Archived from the original on April 10, 2011.
  125. ^ Gerhardt, Michael; Painter, Richard (2012). ""Extraordinary Circumstances": The Legacy of theGang of 14 and a Proposal for Judicial NominationsReform". University of Richmond Law Review. 46 (969): 969. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  126. ^ "Senators compromise on filibusters". CNN. May 24, 2005. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  127. ^ Kopan, Tal (June 6, 2013). "Lindsey Graham 'glad' NSA tracking phones". Politico. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  128. ^ McLaughlin, Seth (June 6, 2013). "GOP Sen. Graham says he's 'glad' NSA is collecting phone records". The Washington Times. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  129. ^ S. 1372 at Congress.gov. S. 1372 January 7, 2021, at the Wayback Machine at GovTrack. S. 1372 December 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine at OpenCongress.
  130. ^ Zengerle, Patricia (July 25, 2013). "U.S. lawmakers want sanctions on any country taking in Snowden". Reuters. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  131. ^ . Xinhua. July 26, 2013. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  132. ^ "FY14 Full Committee Markup of State-Foreign Operations, and Financial Services General Government Bills" (Podcast). United States Senate Committee on Appropriations. July 25, 2013. Event occurs at 1:10:08.
  133. ^ Lewis, Neil A. (July 28, 2005). . The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 19, 2006. Retrieved September 30, 2006.
  134. ^ Savage, Charlie (December 1, 2011). "Senate Declines to Clarify Rights of American Qaeda Suspects Arrested in U.S." The New York Times. from the original on February 28, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  135. ^ S8859 November 17, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, The Graham Amendment
  136. ^ "ACLU Urges Congress to Reject Court Stripping Measure; Proposal Denies Detainees the Right to Challenge the Use of Torture". aclu.org. American Civil Liberties Union. November 10, 2005. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  137. ^ Brecher, Jeremy; Smith, Brendan (November 14, 2005). "Right To Trial Imperiled by Senate Vote". The Nation. from the original on May 12, 2017. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  138. ^ FRONTLINE Interview: Rumsfeld's War November 17, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
  139. ^ FRONTLINE Interview: The Choice 2008 November 16, 2018, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
  140. ^ Bazelon, Emily (March 27, 2006). "Invisible Men: Did Lindsey Graham and Jon Kyl mislead the Supreme Court?". Slate. from the original on August 11, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  141. ^ . CNN. Archived from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
  142. ^ . The Washington Times. June 8, 2007. Archived from the original on March 8, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  143. ^ Blake, Aaron (June 22, 2007). "Immigration stance hurts Graham at home, poll finds". The Hill. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  144. ^ Blake, Aaron (November 14, 2007). "RNC official inches toward Graham battle". The Hill. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  145. ^ "Graham romps to easy win over challenger Witherspoon". The State. June 11, 2008.[permanent dead link]
  146. ^ Schumer, Chuck; Graham, Lindsey (March 19, 2010). "The right way to mend immigration". The Washington Post. from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  147. ^ a b "Sens. Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham give bipartisan push to immigration reform plan". New York Daily News. Associated Press. November 11, 2012. from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  148. ^ Siegel, Elyse (July 29, 2010). "Lindsey Graham: 'Birthright Citizenship Is A Mistake,' 'We Should Change Constitution'". The Huffington Post. from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  149. ^ Victoria Carty; Tekle Woldemikael; Rafael Luévano (May 23, 2014). Scholars and Southern Californian Immigrants in Dialogue: New Conversations in Public Sociology. Lexington Books. p. 75. ISBN 9780739176184. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  150. ^ "Senators Reach a Bipartisan Agreement for Comprehensive Immigration Reform". The National Law Review. Fowler White Boggs P.A. January 31, 2013. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  151. ^ Isenstadt, Alex (June 23, 2013). "Graham: We're close to 70 votes on immigration reform". Politico. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  152. ^ Alvarez, Priscilla (May 15, 2019). "Graham introduces bill that would change asylum process and try to slow flow of migrants". CNN. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  153. ^ Pengelly, Martin (July 14, 2019). "Trump claims migrant detention center visited by Pence was 'clean but crowded'". The Guardian. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  154. ^ Jones, Rhett (May 16, 2018). "Here's the Name of Every Senator Who Voted Against Net Neutrality—and When to Vote Them Out". Gizmodo. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  155. ^ "Roll Call Votes 115th Congress - 1st Session: On the Joint Resolution (S.J. Res. 34 )". senate.gov. United States Senate. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  156. ^ "What They Are Saying: Advocacy Groups & Survivors Voice Support for the EARN IT Act". Senator Richard Blumenthal. February 8, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  157. ^ "S.3538 - EARN IT Act of 2022". Congress.gov. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  158. ^ . CNN. March 31, 2013. Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  159. ^ Freedman, Dan (March 30, 2013). "Why NRA says background checks lead to confiscation". Houston Chronicle. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  160. ^ . WSAV3. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  161. ^ Wallace, Gregory (March 6, 2013). . CNN. Archived from the original on March 8, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  162. ^ Bash, Dana; Raju, Manu; Judd, Donald (June 12, 2022). "Bipartisan group of senators announces agreement on gun control". CNN. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  163. ^ "Roll Call Vote 111th Congress - 1st Session: On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 3590 as Amended)". senate.gov. United States Senate. from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  164. ^ "Roll Call Vote 111th Congress - 2nd Session Roll Call Vote: On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 4872 As Amended)". senate.gov. United States Senate. from the original on August 4, 2010. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
  165. ^ Kliff, Sarah (September 18, 2017). "How Cassidy-Graham brings back preexisting conditions". Vox. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  166. ^ Bash, Dana (February 4, 2015). "Graham rebukes Paul on vaccines". CNN. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  167. ^ "H.R.36 - Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act". congress.gov. October 4, 2017. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  168. ^ Hains, Tim (July 1, 2018). "Lindsey Graham on Roe v. Wade: "You Don't Overturn Precedent Unless There's A Good Reason"". RealClearPolitics. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  169. ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (January 2, 2020). "More Than 200 Republicans Urge Supreme Court to Weigh Overturning Roe v. Wade". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  170. ^ Segers, Grace (January 2, 2020). "Republican senators and congressmen ask Supreme Court to consider overturning Roe v. Wade". CBS News. from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  171. ^ Hurley, Lawrence; Chung, Andrew; Brice, Makini (May 4, 2022). "Biden blasts 'radical' draft U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning abortion rights". Reuters. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  172. ^ Karni, Annie (September 13, 2022). "Graham Proposes 15-Week Abortion Ban, Seeking to Unite Republicans". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  173. ^ Saric, Ivana (September 7, 2022). "Lindsey Graham says let states decide on same-sex marriage". Axios. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  174. ^ Bowden, John (September 21, 2022). "Lindsey Graham taunted for making complete U-turn on whether states should decide abortion rights". The Independent. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  175. ^ "Sen. Graham introduces bill to ban abortion nationwide at 15 weeks". NBC News. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  176. ^ Weixel, Nathaniel (September 20, 2022). "Graham: Abortion 'not a states' rights issue'". The Hill. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  177. ^ . The Washington Post. The U.S. Congress Votes Database. July 11, 1996. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
  178. ^ Garver, Rob (July 24, 2022). "Same-Sex Marriage Bill Advances in US Congress". Voice of America. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  179. ^ "CNN asked all 50 GOP senators if they will support the same-sex marriage bill. Here's where they stand". CNN. July 21, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  180. ^ Hickman, Wes; Bishop, Kevin. "Graham Supports Constitutional Amendment Protecting Traditional Marriage". lgraham.senate.gov. Office of Senator Lindsey Graham. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  181. ^ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  182. ^ Saric, Ivana (August 7, 2022). "Lindsey Graham says let states decide on same-sex marriage". Axios. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  183. ^ Tankersley, Jim; Simon, Richard (April 28, 2010). "Sen. Lindsey Graham's bipartisan efforts bog down". Los Angeles Times. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  184. ^ . greenenergyreporter.com. December 10, 2009. Archived from the original on March 8, 2010. Retrieved April 14, 2010., Green Energy Reporter
  185. ^ Samuelsohn, Darren (January 27, 2010). "Got Ideas About a Climate Bill? Kerry, Graham and Lieberman Want to Hear From You". Energy & Environment. The New York Times. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  186. ^ a b Broder, John M. (April 24, 2010). "Graham Pulls Support for Major Senate Climate Bill". The New York Times. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  187. ^ Sheppard, Kate (June 9, 2010). "Lindsey Graham Said What About Climate Change?". Mother Jones. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  188. ^ Weaver, Dustin (January 21, 2015). "Senate votes that climate change is real". The Hill. from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  189. ^ "Feeling the Heat". October 14, 2020. from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  190. ^ Budryk, Zach (November 2, 2023). "Republican bill would impose fee on imports from foreign polluters". The Hill. Nexstar Media Group. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  191. ^ Siegel, Josh (November 2, 2023). "Senate Republicans introduce a climate bill — aimed at China". Politico. Axel Springer SE. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  192. ^ "Senate – November 2, 2023" (PDF). Congressional Record. U.S. Government Printing Office. 169 (181): S5338. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  193. ^ Hayes, Stephen F. (October 13, 2014). "The Return of the GOP Hawks". The Weekly Standard. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  194. ^ "H.J.Res. 114 (107th): Authorization for Use of Military Force Against ... -- House Vote #455 -- Oct 10, 2002". GovTrack. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  195. ^ Hickman, Wes; Bishop, Kevin (March 19, 2003). "Statement from Lindsey Graham on War with Iraq". lgraham.senate.gov. Office of United States Senator Lindsey Graham. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  196. ^ Steinhauer, Jennifer (November 26, 2012). "Foreign Policy's Bipartisan Trio Becomes Republican Duo". The New York Times. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  197. ^ Helderman, Rosalind S. (November 30, 2012). "Sen. Ayotte offers GOP an influential new voice". The Washington Post. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  198. ^ Trinko, Katrina (November 29, 2012). "Ayotte and the Amigos". National Review. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  199. ^ Schweitzer, Sarah (July 31, 2014). "In the right place at the right time". The Boston Globe. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  200. ^ Surprise Party, The Atlantic, Joshua Greene, January/February 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  201. ^ Larotonda, Matthew (January 6, 2013). "Obama Will Nominate Chuck Hagel as Next Defense Secretary". ABC News. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  202. ^ "Awesome". Senators on Automatic Spending Cuts Feb 28, 2013. C-SPAN. February 28, 2013. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  203. ^ Herb, Jeremy (February 28, 2013). "OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Senate bills fail on sequester's eve". The Hill. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  204. ^ Friedman, Dan (February 28, 2013). . New York Daily News. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  205. ^ Rowland, Kara (February 28, 2013). . Fox News. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  206. ^ . Pajhwok Afghan News. January 3, 2011. Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  207. ^ . Pajhwok Afghan News. March 8, 2011. Archived from the original on January 21, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
  208. ^ Cagnassola, Mary Ellen (April 16, 2021). "Lindsey Graham blames Biden team for ISIS rise, says Afghanistan troop pullout puts U.S. in danger". Newsweek. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  209. ^ Robertson, Nic (June 24, 2021). "Afghanistan is disintegrating fast as Biden's troop withdrawal continues". CNN.
  210. ^ "Graham calls Biden's Afghanistan decision a 'disaster in the making'". The Hill. July 8, 2021.
  211. ^ Wightman, Ken (November 7, 2010). "Lindsey Graham argues military action against Iran possible". digitaljournal.com. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  212. ^ "Graham: Iraq may "go to hell" without US troops". CBS News. April 3, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  213. ^ a b Esfandiari, Golnaz (October 18, 2018). "Iranian-Americans Call Out U.S. Senator Graham For 'Terrible' Ancestry Gaffe". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  214. ^ a b Anapol, Avery (October 17, 2018). "Iranian-American group calls on Graham to apologize for 'disgusting' DNA remark". The Hill. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  215. ^ O'Brien, Sara Ashley (October 17, 2018). "Tech execs want Senator Graham to apologize over Iranian remark". CNN. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  216. ^ Nazzaro, Miranda (October 9, 2023). "Graham: US should threaten Iranian oil infrastructure". The Hill. from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  217. ^ "US and Israel should bomb Iran: Senator Lindsey Graham". Middle East Monitor. October 12, 2023. from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  218. ^ Memmott, Mark (December 22, 2010). "Senate Ratifies START". NPR. from the original on March 31, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
  219. ^ Baker, Peter (December 22, 2010). "Senate Passes Arms Control Treaty With Russia, 71-26". The New York Times. from the original on December 29, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  220. ^ Hunt, Kasie; O'Donnell, Kelly (July 17, 2013). "Graham: US should consider Olympic boycott over possible Snowden asylum". NBC News. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  221. ^ Chappell, Bill (March 4, 2022). "Sen. Lindsey Graham's apparent call for Putin to be assassinated draws backlash". NPR. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  222. ^ "Russia issues arrest warrant for Lindsey Graham over Ukraine comments". AP News. May 29, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  223. ^ "Russia issues arrest warrant for Lindsey Graham over comments on war in Ukraine". PBS NewsHour. May 29, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  224. ^ Roulette, Joey; Faulconbridge, Guy (May 28, 2023). "Dismissing Russian criticism, U.S. Senator Graham praises Ukrainian resistance". Reuters. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  225. ^ Faulconbridge, Guy (May 29, 2023). "Russia puts U.S. Senator Graham on wanted list - Russian media". Reuters. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  226. ^ "Russia issues arrest warrant for Lindsey Graham over Ukraine comments". AP NEWS. May 29, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  227. ^ "Lindsey Graham: Russia issues arrest warrant for top Republican". BBC News. May 29, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  228. ^ Serwer, Adam (August 22, 2011). "The right's bizarre response to Libya events". The Washington Post. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  229. ^ Edwards, Breanna (January 29, 2013). "Lindsey Graham: 'Hillary Clinton got away with murder'". Politico. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  230. ^ "Sen Graham: Benghazi Report is "full of crap"". CNN. November 23, 2014. from the original on November 26, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  231. ^ Klimas, Jacqueline (November 23, 2014). "Lindsey Graham: House Benghazi report is 'full of crap'". The Washington Times. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  232. ^ Miller, Jake (November 23, 2014). "Lindsey Graham: House Benghazi report "full of crap"". CBS News. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  233. ^ Kheel, Rebecca (December 23, 2016). "Obama faces widespread backlash after abstaining from UN Israel vote". The Hill. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  234. ^ "Trump ally Graham says he'll lobby White House for Golan recognition". Times of Israel. March 11, 2019. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  235. ^ "Sen. Lindsey Graham to host roundtable discussion on Israel-Hamas war". WCIV. October 12, 2023.
  236. ^ "US right heats up inflammatory rhetoric on Palestine as Muslim groups worry". The Guardian. October 19, 2023.
  237. ^ "Graham says 'no limit' of Palestinian deaths would make him question Israel". The Hill. November 1, 2023.
  238. ^ "Lindsey Graham says there is 'no limit' to the number of civilians it's justifiable for Israel to kill in its war on Hamas". Business Insider. November 1, 2023.
  239. ^ Kleefeld, Eric (May 26, 2019). "Lindsey Graham proposes invading Venezuela to oust Maduro". Vox. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  240. ^ Woodruff, Betsy (October 23, 2017). "Senators Stunned to Discover We Have 1,000 Troops in Niger". The Daily Beast. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  241. ^ Bearak, Max (October 23, 2017). "Analysis | Parts of Niger and Mali are already lawless. U.S. strategy might make it worse". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  242. ^ "US Senators Graham and Shaheen visit flashpoint town Manbij". Arab News. July 2, 2018. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  243. ^ Pecqet, Julian (March 27, 2015). . U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on March 28, 2015.
  244. ^ "US-Saudi relations are imperiled by journalist Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance". CNBC. October 12, 2018. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  245. ^ Carney, Jordain (June 20, 2019). "Senate votes to block Trump's Saudi arms sale". The Hill. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  246. ^ "Media Calls Out Trump For Sending Troops to Saudi Arabia". Mediaite. October 11, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  247. ^ . twitter.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  248. ^ Haltiwanger, John. "Lindsey Graham says Congress will call for Turkey to be suspended from NATO and hit it with sanctions if it attacks Kurds". Business Insider. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  249. ^ Carney, Jordain (November 13, 2019). "Graham blocks resolution recognizing Armenian genocide after Erdoğan meeting". The Hill. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  250. ^ Tsirkin, Julie; Gregorian, Dareh (December 12, 2019). "Senate passes resolution recognizing Armenian genocide". NBC News. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  251. ^ a b c Fandos, Nicholas; Rosenberg, Matthew (2018). "Republican Senators Recommend Charges Against Author of Trump Dossier". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on January 5, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  252. ^ Carney, Jordain (April 11, 2018). "Senators to introduce new bipartisan bill to protect Mueller". The Hill. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  253. ^ Conradis, Brandon (March 14, 2019). "Graham blocks resolution calling for Mueller report to be made public". The Hill. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  254. ^ "Graham: "Mueller Report In Name Only," Special Counsel Was In A "Weakened State"". Fox News. July 25, 2019. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  255. ^ Creitz, Charles (June 25, 2019). "Lindsey Graham: Mueller's agreement to testify before Congress will 'blow up' in Democrats' faces". Fox News. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  256. ^ Karl, J.; et al. "Top conservative says read my lips: Don't sign 'no new tax' pledge" Spinners and Winners, ABC News, June 12, 2012.
  257. ^ "Free Trade, Free Markets: Rating the Congress". Cato Institute. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  258. ^ "Free Trade, Free Markets: Rating the Congress". Cato Institute. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  259. ^ Byrnes, Jesse (June 19, 2015). "Lindsey Graham defends Confederate flag: 'It works here'". The Hill. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  260. ^ Castillo, Walbert (June 20, 2015). "Lindsey Graham on Charleston shooter: 'It's him ... not the flag'". CNN. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  261. ^ Drucker, David M. (June 20, 2015). "Lindsey Graham: 'No doubt' Charleston shooting was racially motivated". Washington Examiner. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  262. ^ Folley, Aris (June 1, 2023). . The Hill. Archived from the original on June 18, 2023. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  263. ^ a b c d Kropf, Schuyler; Dumain, Emma (November 5, 2016). "PALMETTO POLITICS: U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham named in Boston law firm donation exposé". The Post and Courier. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  264. ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (November 21, 2005). "In the Senate, a Chorus of Three Defies the Line". The New York Times. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  265. ^
February 15, 2024
lindsey, graham, lindsey, olin, graham, born, july, 1955, american, lawyer, politician, serving, senior, united, states, senator, from, south, carolina, seat, held, since, 2003, member, republican, party, graham, chaired, senate, committee, judiciary, from, 20. Lindsey Olin Graham ɡ r ae m born July 9 1955 is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Carolina a seat he has held since 2003 A member of the Republican Party Graham chaired the Senate Committee on the Judiciary from 2019 to 2021 Lindsey GrahamOfficial portrait 2013United States Senatorfrom South CarolinaIncumbentAssumed office January 3 2003Serving with Tim ScottPreceded byStrom ThurmondRanking Member of the Senate Judiciary CommitteeIncumbentAssumed office January 3 2023Preceded byChuck GrassleyRanking Member of the Senate Budget CommitteeIn office February 3 2021 January 3 2023Preceded byBernie SandersSucceeded byChuck GrassleyChairman of the Senate Judiciary CommitteeIn office January 3 2019 February 3 2021Preceded byChuck GrassleySucceeded byDick DurbinMember of the U S House of Representatives from South Carolina s 3rd districtIn office January 3 1995 January 3 2003Preceded byButler DerrickSucceeded byGresham BarrettMember of the South Carolina House of Representatives from the 2nd districtIn office January 12 1993 January 3 1995Preceded byLowell RossSucceeded byBill Sandifer IIIPersonal detailsBornLindsey Olin Graham 1955 07 09 July 9 1955 age 68 Central South Carolina U S Political partyRepublicanEducationUniversity of South Carolina BA JD SignatureWebsiteSenate website Campaign websiteMilitary serviceAllegianceUnited StatesBranch serviceUnited States Air ForceYears of service1982 1988 active 1989 1995 South Carolina Air National Guard 1995 2015 reserve RankColonelUnitU S Air Force Judge Advocate General s CorpsLindsey Graham s voice source source Lindsey Graham on the links between food insecurity and terrorist recruitmentRecorded May 11 2022A native of Central South Carolina Graham received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1981 Most of his active duty during his military service happened from 1982 to 1988 when he served with the Judge Advocate General s Corps in the United States Air Force as a defense attorney and then as the Air Force s chief prosecutor in Europe based in West Germany Later his entire service in the U S Air Force Reserve ran concurrently with his congressional career He was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in 2014 and held the rank of colonel Graham worked as a lawyer in private practice before serving one term in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995 He served four terms in the United States House of Representatives for South Carolina s 3rd congressional district from 1995 to 2003 In 2002 Graham won the U S Senate seat vacated by retiring Republican incumbent Strom Thurmond He was reelected to a fourth term in 2020 In the Senate Graham advocates for strong national defense 1 and aggressive interventionist foreign policy 2 Initially he was known for his willingness to be bipartisan and work with Democrats on issues like campaign finance reform a ban on waterboarding cap and trade immigration reform and judicial nominees 3 4 5 6 7 8 He has criticized the Tea Party movement arguing for a more inclusive Republican Party 7 9 10 11 12 13 Graham sought the Republican nomination for president between June and December 2015 dropping out before the 2016 Republican primaries began 14 2 He was an outspoken critic of Donald Trump s 2016 candidacy and repeatedly said he did not support Trump 15 in particular he took issue with Trump s comments on Graham s close friend Senator John McCain 16 After a March 2017 meeting with Trump Graham became a staunch ally of his often issuing public statements in his defense His reversal caught both parties by surprise and sparked media speculation 16 17 He became chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in January 2019 18 and led the U S Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett who was confirmed in October 2020 Contents 1 Early life 2 Military service 3 South Carolina House of Representatives 4 U S House of Representatives 4 1 Elections 4 2 Tenure 4 2 1 Committee assignments 5 U S Senate 5 1 Elections 5 1 1 2002 5 1 2 2008 5 1 3 2014 5 1 4 2020 5 2 Committee assignments 5 2 1 Current 5 2 2 Previous 5 3 Caucus memberships 5 4 Relationship with Donald Trump 5 4 1 Reaction to 2020 presidential election results 5 4 2 2024 election 6 Political positions 6 1 Supreme Court nominations 6 2 Free speech 6 3 Gang of 14 6 4 National Security Agency surveillance 6 5 Detainee interrogations 6 6 Immigration reform 6 7 Internet and technology 6 8 Gun rights 6 9 Health care 6 10 Vaccines 6 11 Abortion 6 12 LGBTQ rights 6 13 Climate change 6 14 Foreign policy 6 14 1 War in Afghanistan 6 14 2 Iran 6 14 3 Russia 6 14 3 1 Russo Ukrainian War 6 14 4 Libya 6 14 5 Israel Palestine 6 14 6 Venezuela 6 14 7 Niger 6 14 8 Syria 6 14 9 Saudi Arabia 6 14 10 Armenian genocide 6 15 Robert Mueller s investigation 6 16 Taxation 6 17 Trade 6 18 2015 Charleston church shooting and Confederate flag issue 6 19 Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 7 Campaign contributions 8 Presidential politics 9 Electoral history 9 1 Primary elections 10 Personal life 11 See also 12 References 13 Further reading 14 External linksEarly lifeLindsey Olin Graham was born in Central South Carolina where his parents Millie Walters and Florence James F J Graham ran a restaurant bar pool hall liquor store the Sanitary Cafe 19 20 His family is of Scots Irish descent 21 22 After graduating from D W Daniel High School Graham became the first member of his family to attend college and joined the Reserve Officers Training Corps When he was 21 his mother died of Hodgkin s lymphoma aged 52 and his father died 15 months later of a heart attack aged 69 21 Because his then 13 year old sister was left orphaned the service allowed Graham to attend the University of South Carolina in Columbia so he could remain near home as his sister s legal guardian 12 During his studies he became a member of the Pi Kappa Phi social fraternity 23 He graduated from the University of South Carolina with a B A in psychology in 1977 and from the University of South Carolina School of Law with a J D in 1981 24 Military service nbsp Graham being robed as a judge for the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals November 2003Upon graduating from the University of South Carolina School of Law Graham was commissioned as an officer in the Judge Advocate General s Corps JAG Corps in the United States Air Force in 1982 and began active duty that year His duty began with a stint as an Air Force defense attorney after which he was transferred to Rhein Main Air Base in Frankfurt Germany where from 1984 to 1988 he was the Air Force s chief prosecutor in Europe In 1984 as he was defending an Air Force pilot accused of using marijuana he was featured in an episode of 60 Minutes that exposed the Air Force s defective drug testing procedures 21 25 After his service in Europe he returned to South Carolina leaving active duty in 1989 26 and entering private practice as a lawyer 21 He served as assistant county attorney for Oconee County from 1988 to 1992 and city attorney for Central from 1990 to 1994 27 nbsp Lt Gen Jack L Rives pins the Meritorious Service Medal on Colonel Lindsey Graham April 2009After leaving the Air Force Graham joined the South Carolina Air National Guard in 1989 where he served until 1995 then joining the U S Air Force Reserve 26 During the 1990 1991 Gulf War Graham was recalled to active duty serving as a judge advocate at McEntire Air National Guard Station in Eastover South Carolina where he helped brief departing pilots on the laws of war 28 In 1998 the Capitol Hill daily newspaper The Hill contended that Graham was describing himself on his website as an Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm veteran Graham responded I have not told anybody I m a combatant I m not a war hero and never said I was If I have lied about my military record I m not fit to serve in Congress further noting that he never deployed 29 30 In 1998 Graham was promoted to lieutenant colonel In 2004 he received his promotion to colonel in the U S Air Force Reserve at a White House ceremony officiated by President George W Bush 31 That year a lower court determined that Graham s service as a military judge while a sitting member of the Senate was acceptable In 2006 the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces set aside the lower court s ruling after concluding it was improper for Graham to serve as a military judge 32 In 2007 Graham served in Iraq as a reservist on active duty for a short period in April and for two weeks in August where he worked on detainee and rule of law issues 33 He also served in Afghanistan during the August 2009 Senate recess 34 He was then assigned as a senior instructor at the Judge Advocate General s School though he never went 31 In 2014 Graham received a Bronze Star medal for meritorious service as a senior legal adviser to the Air Force in Iraq and Afghanistan from August 2009 to July 2014 overseeing the detention of military prisoners 1 31 In 2015 he retired at his last rank of Colonel from the Air Force with over 33 total years of service after reaching the statutory retirement age of 60 for his rank 35 Graham earned points toward a military pension but was unpaid as an Air Force officer while a congressman and senator as he was ineligible for a military paycheck during his time in federal government service 31 South Carolina House of RepresentativesIn 1992 Graham was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives from the 2nd district in Oconee County He defeated Democratic incumbent Lowell W Ross by 60 to 40 and served one term from 1993 to 1995 36 U S House of RepresentativesElections In 1994 20 year incumbent Democratic U S Congressman Butler Derrick of South Carolina s northwestern based 3rd congressional district decided to retire Graham ran to succeed him and with Republican U S Senator Strom Thurmond campaigning on his behalf won the Republican primary with 52 of the vote defeating Bob Cantrell 33 and Ed Allgood 15 37 In the general election Graham defeated Democratic State Senator James Bryan Jr 60 to 40 37 As a part of that year s Republican Revolution Graham became the first Republican to represent the district since 1877 11 In 1996 he was challenged by Debbie Dorn the niece of Butler Derrick and daughter of Derrick s predecessor 13 term Democratic Congressman William Jennings Bryan Dorn Graham was reelected defeating Dorn 60 to 40 37 In 1998 he was reelected to a third term unopposed 37 In 2000 he was reelected to a fourth term defeating Democratic nominee George Brightharp 68 to 30 37 Tenure This section needs expansion You can help by adding to it March 2021 In 1997 Graham took part in a leadership challenge against House Speaker Newt Gingrich 21 source source source source Graham speaking during Clinton s impeachment on December 18 1998 and also discussing the grounds for impeachment of Richard Nixon and other presidentsIn November 1997 Graham was one of 18 House Republicans to co sponsor a resolution by Bob Barr that sought to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Bill Clinton 38 39 The resolution did not specify any charges or allegations 39 This was an early effort to impeach Clinton predating the eruption of the Clinton Lewinsky scandal The eruption of that scandal ultimately led to a more serious effort to impeach Clinton in 1998 40 On October 8 1998 Graham voted in favor of legislation to open an impeachment inquiry 12 41 He was a member of the Judiciary Committee which conducted the inquiry 42 In both the Judiciary Committee vote on forwarding proposed articles of impeachment and the full House vote on the proposed articles of impeachment Graham voted for three of the four proposed articles of impeachment He voted against the second count of perjury in the Paula Jones case 43 44 45 46 This made him the only Republican on the Judiciary Committee to vote against any of the proposed articles of impeachment 12 During the inquiry Graham asked Is this Watergate or Peyton Place 12 21 The House passed two of the impeachment articles 43 44 45 46 Graham served as an House impeachment manager in the impeachment trial 47 Committee assignments This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Lindsey Graham news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message During his service in the House Graham served on the following committees Committee on International Relations 1995 1998 Committee on Education and the Workforce 1995 2002 Committee on the Judiciary 1997 2002 Committee on Armed Services 1999 2002 U S SenateElections 2002 Main article 2002 United States Senate election in South Carolina In 2002 longtime U S Senator Strom Thurmond decided to retire Graham ran to succeed him and won the Republican primary unopposed In the general election he defeated Democratic nominee Alex Sanders the former President of the College of Charleston and former Chief Judge of the South Carolina Court of Appeals 600 010 votes 54 to 487 359 44 48 Graham thus became South Carolina s first new U S senator since Fritz Hollings in 1966 49 2008 Main article 2008 United States Senate election in South Carolina When Graham ran for a second term in 2008 he was challenged in the Republican primary by National Executive Committeeman of the South Carolina Republican Party Buddy Witherspoon Graham defeated him by 186 398 votes 66 82 to 92 547 33 18 winning all but one of South Carolina s 46 counties 50 He then defeated the Democratic nominee pilot and engineer Bob Conley in the general election 1 076 534 votes 57 53 to 790 621 42 25 having outspent Conley by 6 6 million to 15 000 51 2014 Main article 2014 United States Senate election in South Carolina Of all the Republican senators up for reelection in 2014 Graham was considered one of the most vulnerable to a primary challenge largely due to his low approval ratings and reputation for working with and compromising with Democrats 52 53 He expected a primary challenge from conservative activists including the Tea Party movement 54 and Chris Chocola President of the Club for Growth indicated that his organization would support a primary challenge if an acceptable standard bearer emerged 55 But a serious challenger to Graham failed to emerge and he was widely viewed as likely to win 6 13 52 which has been ascribed to his deft maneuvering and aggressive response to the challenge He befriended potential opponents from the state s congressional delegation and helped them with fundraising and securing their preferred committee assignments he assembled a daunting multi million dollar political operation dubbed the Graham machine that built six regional offices across the state and enlisted the support of thousands of paid staffers and volunteers including over 5 000 precinct captains he assembled a staggering campaign war chest and blanketed the state with positive ads he focused on constituent services and local issues and he refused to pander to the Tea Party supporters instead confronting them head on arguing that the Republican Party needed to be more inclusive 10 11 12 13 56 In the run up to the Republican primary Graham s approval rating improved According to a February 2013 Winthrop poll he had a 59 positive rating among likely Republican voters 57 Graham won the June 10 primary with 178 833 votes 56 42 His nearest challenger State Senator Lee Bright received 48 904 15 4 58 Graham won the general election defeating the Democratic nominee State Senator Brad Hutto 54 to 39 Independent Thomas Ravenel a former Republican State Treasurer and Libertarian Victor Kocher received 3 8 and 2 7 of the vote respectively 59 2020 Main article 2020 United States Senate election in South Carolina Democrat Jaime Harrison challenged Graham in the 2020 Senate election 60 The race was unexpectedly competitive with many polls in the last few months of the race showing it as very close Harrison also had record fundraising numbers Despite this Graham defeated Harrison by more than ten percentage points 54 4 to 44 2 in the November 3 general election 61 Committee assignments In November 2018 Senator Chuck Grassley chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee announced that he would become chair of the Senate Finance Committee and that Graham would take his place as chair of the Judiciary Committee pending his formal selection by colleagues 62 63 64 nbsp Graham and President George W Bush visit Charleston Air Force Base in 2007 nbsp U S Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Senators Joni Ernst Dan Sullivan John McCain Tom Cotton Lindsey Graham and Cory Gardner attending the 2016 International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia Security Summit in SingaporeCurrent Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce Justice Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Defense Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development Subcommittee on Labor Health and Human Services Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee on the Department of State Foreign Operations and Related Programs Ranking Member Subcommittee on Transportation Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Committee on Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Chemical Safety Waste Management Environmental Justice and Regulatory Oversight Clean Air Climate and Nuclear Safety Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on the Budget Ranking Member 2021 2023 Committee on the Judiciary Chairman 2019 2021 Ranking Member 2023 present Subcommittee on Antitrust Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee on the Constitution Civil Rights and Human Rights Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee on Privacy Technology and the LawPrevious Committee on Armed Services 2003 2019 Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions 2003 2005 Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry 2007 2009 Select Committee on Intelligence 2007 2009 Committee on Veterans Affairs 2007 2011 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 2009 2011 Special Committee on Aging 2009 2013 Committee on Foreign Relations 2019 2021 65 Caucus memberships International Conservation Caucus Senate National Guard Caucus Co chair Sportsmen s Caucus Senate Oceans CaucusGraham is a member of the board of directors of the International Republican Institute 66 Relationship with Donald Trump nbsp Graham and Donald Trump in January 2019In July 2015 when Graham was a presidential candidate he called Donald Trump then another presidential candidate a jackass for saying that Graham s close friend Senator John McCain was not a war hero Trump reacted by calling Graham an idiot and revealing Graham s personal cellphone number at a campaign rally asking people to call Graham 67 In December 2015 Trump the front runner for the Republican presidential nomination called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States Graham who had very little support as a presidential candidate responded He s a race baiting xenophobic religious bigot He doesn t represent my Republican party I don t think he has a clue about anything He is empowering radical Islam You know how you make America great again Tell Donald Trump to go to hell He added I d rather lose without Donald Trump than try to win with him 68 In May 2016 Graham tweeted If we nominate Trump we will get destroyed and we will deserve it 69 In June 2016 after Trump criticized a judge of Mexican heritage implying he could be biased Graham said to CNN I don t think Trump is racist but he s playing the race card I think it s very un American If he continues this line of attack then I think people really need to reconsider the future of the Republican party Graham told The New York Times that that incident is probably it for anyone looking to withdraw their support of Trump There ll come a time when the love of country will trump hatred of Hillary Clinton the Democratic nominee for president 70 In the November presidential election Graham did not vote for Trump saying I couldn t go where Donald Trump wanted to take the USA amp GOP He voted for independent candidate Evan McMullin 71 In March 2017 Graham held a meeting with Trump Graham said that the meeting went so well that he passed his new phone number to Trump in reference to their 2015 conflict 16 72 In October 2017 Graham and Trump played golf together on multiple occasions with Graham praising the first outing 73 In November 2017 Graham criticized the media s reporting on Trump What concerns me about the American press is this endless endless attempt to label the guy some kind of kook not fit to be president In February 2016 Graham said of Trump I think he s a kook I think he s crazy I think he s unfit for office 74 75 In April 2018 Graham said that he would support Trump s reelection in 2020 76 In January 2019 Graham said that Republicans must support Trump s policies If we undercut the president that s the end of his presidency and the end of our party 77 nbsp Graham joins President Donald Trump for swearing in of recently confirmed Attorney General William Barr on February 14 2019In February 2019 Mark Leibovich interviewed Graham for The New York Times Magazine He asked Graham how he became a prominent Trump supporter Graham responded that he was attempting to be relevant I ve got an opportunity up here working with the president to get some really good outcomes for the country I have never been called this much by a president in my life He s asked me to do some things and I ve asked him to do some things in return Graham said he had been gaining influence with Trump and was attempting to enter Trump s inner circle where he would reach a level of influence on par with Melania Trump Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner He said that he had had a political marriage with John McCain but as for his relationship with Trump I personally like him We play golf He s very nice to me Graham also said that a good relationship with Trump would help his prospects of reelection to the Senate in 2020 78 Seven months after the death of McCain one of Graham s dearest friends 79 Trump repeatedly criticized McCain Graham was then criticized for not standing up for McCain Graham responded To all those people who bring up this narrative you just hate Trump You re not offended about me and McCain you re trying to use me to get to Trump I m not into this idea that the only way to honor John McCain is to trash out Trump He also said The bottom line here is I m going to help President Trump 80 McCain had banned Trump from his funeral Trump s daughter Ivanka attended his funeral reportedly at the invitation of Graham who had reportedly gotten McCain s wife s permission 81 According to Graham Trump called him after he delivered an emotional farewell to McCain on the Senate floor telling him he did right by his friend 82 On May 14 2019 Graham came under scrutiny including from Senator Joe Manchin after encouraging Donald Trump Jr to ignore a subpoena delivered by the Senate Intelligence Committee 83 In July 2019 Graham said he did not think Trump was racist and that he did not think that Trump s statements that certain Democratic congresswomen should go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came were racist Graham said I don t think a Somali refugee embracing Trump would be asked to go back If you re racist you want everybody to go back because they are black or Muslim 74 Earlier in August 2018 The Washington Post reported that Graham had said I have never heard him make a single racist statement Not even close 84 On October 8 2019 during an interview with Jonathan Swan of Axios Graham condemned Trump s announcement of an intention to withdraw U S troops from northern Syria saying that Trump was putting the nation and his presidency at risk and that it was without the support of key national security advisers 85 Media focused on Graham s reversals and Trump s apparent lack of appreciation for his advice 86 In December 2019 as two articles of impeachment against Trump moved to a vote before the full House and referral to the Senate for trial Graham said I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind I m not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here adding this thing will come to the Senate and it will die quickly and I will do everything I can to make it die quickly 87 He also announced that he held disdain for the accusations and the process So I don t need any witnesses for the Senate trial 88 In response Democrats referenced statements Graham made during the 1998 impeachment of Bill Clinton including his citation of Richard Nixon as proof that a president who ignored a subpoena should be impeached for taking the power from Congress over the impeachment process away from Congress and becoming judge and jury himself 89 Reaction to 2020 presidential election results See also Disputes surrounding the 2020 United States presidential election results Even after all major news networks projected that Joe Biden had won the 2020 United States presidential election Graham said that Trump should not concede because if Republicans don t challenge and change the U S election system there will never be another Republican president elected again 90 Graham said he donated 500 000 to Trump s election lawsuits in various states 91 and that the option should be on the table for Republican state legislators to invalidate election results due to alleged corruption by appointing presidential electors who would vote for Trump 92 After receiving an affidavit by Pennsylvania postal worker Richard Hopkins alleging that his postmaster discussed backdating mail ballots Graham issued a statement that all credible allegations of voting irregularities and misconduct be investigated to ensure the integrity of the 2020 elections including Hopkins s 93 Hopkins s affidavit was released by Project Veritas a controversial conservative organization known for using deceptive tactics Project Veritas later released a recording in which Hopkins says that he did not hear his postmaster explicitly discuss backdating ballots and that Project Veritas wrote his affidavit for him 94 The 2020 United States presidential election in Georgia produced an initial count where Biden defeated Trump by around 14 000 votes triggering a recount due to the small margin 95 While the recount was ongoing Graham privately called the Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to discuss Georgia s vote counting 95 Raffensperger a Republican told The Washington Post that Graham had asked Raffensperger whether Raffensperger could disqualify all mail in ballots in counties with more signature errors 95 Gabriel Sterling a Republican election official and staffer to Raffensperger was present on the call Sterling confirmed that Graham had asked that question 96 Raffensperger viewed Graham s question as a suggestion to throw out legally cast ballots Graham denied suggesting this 95 Graham acknowledged calling Raffensperger to find out how to protect the integrity of mail in voting and how does signature verification work but said that if Raffensperger feels threatened by that conversation he s got a problem 95 Graham said that he was investigating in his capacity as a senator although he was the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee 97 He went on to claim that he had also spoken to Arizona s and Nevada s secretaries of state 97 Those secretaries denied this and Graham reversed himself saying that he had spoken to the governor of Arizona and no official in Nevada 97 The Washington Post reported in February 2021 that Fani Willis the Fulton County Georgia district attorney was examining Graham s phone call to Raffensperger as part of a criminal investigation into possible efforts to illegally overturn Georgia s election results 98 On January 6 2021 Graham Vice President Mike Pence and members of the Senate and House were evacuated from the Capitol building after Trump supporters attacked the United States Capitol The joint session of Congress reconvened late into the night and the early morning in the Senate chamber to count and confirm the Electoral College votes Graham spoke disagreeing with many of his Republican colleagues who mostly supported Trump s denials of the election s results saying it s a uniquely bad idea to delay this election and though I hate it they could count me out enough is enough He finished by saying Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are lawfully elected and will become the President and the Vice President of the United States on January the 20th 99 In the resulting second impeachment trial of Donald Trump Graham voted not guilty 100 On May 28 2021 Graham voted against creating the January 6 commission 101 In August 2021 The New York Times reported that Graham called Biden days after the election in an effort to revive their friendship and told Biden he had called for a special counsel investigation of Biden s son Hunter during the campaign only to appease Trump supporters among his constituents A Graham spokesman disputed the Times s account 102 2024 election Graham appeared at Trump s first prime time 2024 campaign rally on January 28 2023 and told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he would support Trump because I know what I m going to get mostly regarding perceived international threats 103 Political positions nbsp Senators Joe Biden and Lindsey Graham with Iraq s interim Prime Minister Allawi inside the Green Zone of Baghdad June 19 2004Tea Party opponents have called Graham a moderate Republican 9 10 He calls himself a Reagan style Republican and has been called a fairly conservative Republican with a twang of moderation and an independent streak 6 21 25 Much of the Tea Party criticism focuses on his willingness to be bipartisan and work with Democrats on issues like climate change tax reform and immigration reform and his belief that judicial nominees should not be opposed solely because of their philosophical positions 3 4 5 6 7 8 He voted to confirm both of President Obama s Supreme Court nominees Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan 104 105 For his part Graham has criticized and confronted the Tea Party arguing for a more inclusive Republican Party 7 9 10 11 12 13 In the first session of the 115th Congress Graham was ranked the sixth most bipartisan senator by the Lugar Center and Georgetown s McCourt School of Public Policy 106 We lost President Obama won I ve got a lot of opportunity to disagree but the Constitution in my view puts an obligation on me not to replace my judgment for his not to think of the hundred reasons I would pick someone different I view my duty as to protect the Judiciary and to ensure that hard fought elections have meaning in our system I m going to vote for her Kagan because I believe this election has consequences And this president chose someone who is qualified to serve on this court and understands the difference between being a liberal judge and a politician At the end of the day it wasn t a hard decision She would not have been someone I would have chosen but the person who did choose President Obama chose wisely 105 Graham explaining his vote to confirm Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court Supreme Court nominations In 2016 after Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died Republican senators boycotted Obama s nomination of Merrick Garland Graham said that Supreme Court vacancies should never be filled in a presidential election year 107 and that w e are setting a precedent today Republicans are 108 He said that if a similar situation arose you can use my words against me and you d be absolutely right 109 In an October 2018 interview Graham said specifically that i f an opening comes in the last year of President Trump s term and the primary process has started we ll wait till the next election 110 During the 2018 confirmation hearings following Brett Kavanaugh s nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States Graham took a strong stance against letting the process be further delayed by Christine Blasey Ford s allegations Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her decades earlier when the two were in high school 111 Speaking to reporters immediately after the Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Ford Graham declared himself unmoved by her testimony doubting her recollection that it was Kavanaugh who had assaulted her 112 When Kavanaugh testified before the committee the following day Graham used his time to speak in Kavanaugh s defense describing him as a victim who had been put through hell by the most unethical sham he had seen in his time in politics and that if Kavanaugh was looking for fair process he had c o me to the wrong town at the wrong time A CNN commentator characterized Graham s speech as an audition for Attorney General 113 In 2019 Graham became chair of the Judiciary Committee 114 In May 2020 Graham said the Senate would work to confirm a Supreme Court nominee if a vacancy arose before the November election 115 He said Merrick Garland was a different situation You had the president of one party nominating and you had the Senate in the hands of the other party A situation where you ve got them both would be different 116 In August 2020 he said a fter Kavanaugh s confirmation the rules have changed as far as I m concerned 117 118 In September 2020 Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Within a day Graham expressed support for the Senate immediately voting on Trump s nominee to succeed her The New York Times called Graham s position a complete and brazen reversal of his earlier stance 118 Graham said that in 2013 years before his 2016 pledge Democrats had changed Senate rules to allow a simple majority vote for nominees to United States courts of appeals 119 120 Free speech nbsp Graham far right at the signing of the Fair Sentencing Act in 2010During an April 3 2011 appearance on Face the Nation 121 Graham suggested that Congress take unspecified though formal action against the Koran burning by Florida preacher Terry Jones in light of an attack on United Nations personnel triggered by Jones s actions 122 Asserting that Congress might need to explore the need to limit some forms of freedom of speech 123 Graham argued Free speech is a great idea but we re in a war and claimed that during World War II we had limits on what you could say if it would inspire the enemy 122 124 Gang of 14 On May 23 2005 Graham was one of the so called Gang of 14 senators forging a compromise that brought a halt to the continued blockage of an up or down vote on judicial nominees This compromise negated both the Democrats use of a filibuster and the Republican nuclear option Under the agreement the Democrats retained the power to filibuster a Bush judicial nominee only in an extraordinary circumstance and subsequently three conservative Bush appellate court nominees Janice Rogers Brown Priscilla Owen and William H Pryor Jr received a vote by the full Senate 125 126 National Security Agency surveillance In response to the 2013 disclosures about the United States National Security Agency and its international partners global surveillance of foreign nationals and U S citizens Graham said he was glad the NSA was collecting phone records He said I m a Verizon customer I don t mind Verizon turning over records to the government if the government is going to make sure that they try to match up a known terrorist phone with somebody in the United States I don t think you re talking to the terrorists I know you re not I know I m not So we don t have anything to worry about 127 128 On July 25 2013 the U S Senate Committee on Appropriations unanimously adopted an amendment by Graham to the Fiscal Year 2014 Department of State Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Bill 129 that sought sanctions against any country that offered asylum to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden 130 131 132 Detainee interrogations In July 2005 Graham secured the declassification and release of memoranda outlining concerns made by senior military lawyers as early as 2003 about the legality of the interrogations of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay 133 Of U S citizens accused of supporting terrorism Graham said before the Senate When they say I want my lawyer you tell them Shut up You don t get a lawyer You are an enemy combatant and we are going to talk to you about why you joined Al Qaeda 134 In response to this and a June 2004 U S Supreme Court decision allowing detainees to file habeas corpus petitions to challenge their detentions Graham authored an amendment to a Department of Defense Authorization Act 135 attempting to clarify the authority of American courts The amendment passed in November 2005 by a vote of 49 42 in the Senate despite opposition from human rights groups and legal scholars who contended that it limited the rights of detainees 136 137 Graham has said he amended the Department of Defense Authorization Act in order to give military lawyers as opposed to politically appointed lawyers a more independent role in the oversight of military commanders He has argued that two of the largest problems leading to the detainee abuse scandals at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib were this lack of oversight and troops confusion over legal boundaries 138 Graham added that military lawyers had long observed the provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Geneva Convention but that the Bush administration had not considered those provisions in decisions about the treatment of Guantanamo Bay detainees He claimed that better legal oversight within the military s chain of command would prevent future detainee abuse 139 In February 2006 Graham joined Senator Jon Kyl in filing an amicus brief in the Hamdan v Rumsfeld case that argued Congress was aware that the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 would strip the Supreme Court of jurisdiction to hear pending cases including this case brought by Guantanamo detainees 140 In a May 2009 CNN interview Graham referred to the domestic internment of German and Japanese prisoners of war and U S Citizens as a model for domestic detention of Guantanamo detainees saying We had 450 000 Japanese and German prisoners housed in the United States during World War II As a nation we can deal with this 141 Immigration reform Graham was a supporter of comprehensive immigration reform of S 2611 the McCain Kennedy Immigration Reform Bill of 2006 and of S 1348 the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 His positions on immigration and in particular collaborating with Senator Ted Kennedy earned Graham the ire of conservative activists 142 The controversy prompted conservative activists to support a primary challenge in 2008 by longtime Republican national committeeman Buddy Witherspoon 143 144 but Graham won the nomination by a large margin 145 In early 2010 Graham began working with Democratic New York Senator Chuck Schumer on immigration reform 146 The talks broke down later that year 147 In July 2010 Graham suggested that U S citizenship as a birthright guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of the U S Constitution should be amended and that any children born to illegal immigrants in the United States should be considered illegal immigrants 148 He alleged Half the children born in hospitals on our borders are the children of illegal immigrants 149 In November 2012 Graham and Schumer resumed their talks on comprehensive immigration reform 147 On January 28 2013 Graham was a member of a bipartisan group of eight senators that announced principles for comprehensive immigration reform 150 On June 23 2013 Graham said that the Senate was close to obtaining 70 votes to pass the reform package 151 In May 2019 Graham proposed instituting new immigration laws that would only allow migrants to apply for asylum from their home country or Mexico smooth the process to deport unaccompanied children to Central America and extend the period by which migrant children could be detained from 20 days to 100 days 152 In July 2019 Graham visited a migrant detention center in Texas He reacted that it was not a concentration camp but a facility overwhelmed Of the migrants Graham said I don t care if they have to stay in these facilities for 400 days We re not going to let those men go that I saw It would be dangerous 153 Internet and technology In May 2018 Graham voted against legislation that would have overturned the FCC s ruling clarification needed and restored net neutrality 154 In March 2017 Graham voted for the Broadband Consumer Privacy Proposal that removed the FCC s internet privacy rules and allowed internet service providers to sell customers browsing history without their permission 155 non primary source needed In February 2022 Graham and Richard Blumenthal introduced bipartisan legislation as part of the EARN IT Act to incentivize tech companies to remove child sexual abuse material CSAM from their platforms and remove blanket immunity for violations of laws related to online child pornography 156 157 Gun rights Graham opposes extending background checks 158 He has said universal background checks are going to require universal gun registration 159 However he has called current gun laws broken citing an example of a woman who pleaded guilty by reason of insanity to attempting to kill President George W Bush but who was later able to pass a background check and buy a gun 160 To this end in March 2013 he joined Senators Jeff Flake Mark Begich and Mark Pryor in introducing a bill that would close a loophole by flagging individuals who attempt to buy guns who have used an insanity defense were ruled dangerous by a court or had been committed by a court to mental health treatment It did not address the gun show loophole 161 In 2022 Graham became one of ten Republican senators to support a bipartisan agreement on gun control which included a red flag provision a support for state crisis intervention orders funding for school safety resources stronger background checks for buyers under the age of 21 and penalties for straw purchases 162 Health care Graham opposed President Obama s health reform legislation he voted against the Affordable Care Act Obamacare in December 2009 163 and against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 164 He played a leading role in efforts to repeal Obamacare authoring the Graham Cassidy amendment to Republicans 2017 repeal efforts The amendment would have given states permission to remove protections for individuals with preexisting conditions such as allowing insurers to charge them higher prices for insurance 165 Graham is a cosponsor of the Healthy Americans Act citation needed Vaccines Graham criticized Senator Rand Paul after Paul said I ve heard of many tragic cases of walking talking normal children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines Graham said that Paul was creating anxiety for no good reason and looking at this issue through a libertarian s eyes not a physician s eyes 166 Graham continued As to freedom it is cherished it is hard to come by it is hard to hang on to But freedom without responsibility is chaos so to those who push the idea that freedom would allow an individual to do anything anywhere at any time I reject Your freedom ends where my ability to raise my family safely begins So I would urge every American to vaccinate their children and I would reject any effort to stop vaccinations until someone can show me a scientific reason to do so Abortion In 2015 Graham sponsored the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act in the Senate which bans abortion after 20 weeks of gestation on a national basis with some exceptions to save the life of the mother or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest 167 In 2018 Graham was anti abortion but said that Roe v Wade is precedent that should not be overturned without good reason 168 In 2020 he was one of 13 Republican senators who declined to sign an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to overturn Roe 169 170 In May 2022 Graham advocated that the Supreme Court overturn Roe to ensure that every state will decide if abortion is legal and on what terms as this would be the most constitutionally sound way of dealing with this issue and the way the United States handled the issue until 1973 171 In June 2022 he asserted that all conservatives believed that there s nothing in the Constitution giving the federal government the right to regulate abortion 172 In August 2022 Graham said that states should decide the issue of abortion and that he had been consistent on this 173 174 In September 2022 Graham introduced legislation in an attempt to institute a federal ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions for rape incest and the life of the patient 175 Graham said This is not a states rights issue This is a human right issue I am going to advocate a national minimum standard 176 LGBTQ rights In 1996 Graham voted for the Defense of Marriage Act 177 which became federal law that year it defined marriage as between one man and one woman and enacted non recognition of same sex marriages at the federal level 178 Graham reiterated his support of the Defense of Marriage Act in 2022 179 Graham voted to support a constitutional amendment opposing marriage between same sex couples in 2006 He said I believe in the traditional definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman Traditional marriage is an institution worth protecting and this amendment will accomplish that goal A constitutional amendment is the only effective way to cut off the growing trend among judges to create a constitutional right to same sex marriage 180 After the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v Hodges Graham said that although he disagreed with the ruling he no longer believed that a constitutional amendment was a viable action on the issue 181 In August 2022 after the House of Representatives approved a bill to recognize same sex marriages at the federal level and that bill was sent to the Senate Graham said that states should decide the issue of marriage if you re going to ask me to have the federal government take over defining marriage I m going to say no 182 Climate change On December 10 2009 Graham and Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman co sponsored a letter to President Obama announcing their commitment to passing a climate change bill and outlining its framework 183 184 Graham was identified as a potential Republican supporter of a climate change bill and thought to be a likely sponsor of the final bill 185 but he pulled his support saying that he disapproved of Senate Democrats moving forward with legislation to deal with immigration issues a reaction to Arizona s passage of an illegal immigration law Graham s withdrawal of support left passage of the climate change bill in doubt 186 In June 2010 Graham told reporters The science about global warming has changed I think they ve oversold this stuff quite frankly I think they ve been alarmist and the science is in question The whole movement has taken a giant step backward 187 He also said that he planned to vote against the climate bill he had originally co sponsored citing further restriction of offshore drilling added to the bill and its impact on transportation 186 In 2015 Graham said he completely understand s and accept s that climate change is real but said I don t know the role human activity played 188 In 2020 Graham sponsored the Growing Climate Solutions Act a bill that would make it simpler for farmers to sell carbon credits on existing carbon trading markets in California and in the Northeast 189 In November 2023 Graham and Bill Cassidy co sponsored the Foreign Pollution Fee Act Endorsed by the Sierra Club the bill S 3198 referred to the Senate Finance Committee proposed imposing a carbon tariff on energy and industrial imports based on the good s emission intensity or carbon footprint as compared with the same domestic good to impose a carbon price on goods from countries with greater greenhouse gas emissions than the United States 190 191 192 nbsp Taiwan s President Tsai Ing wen meets with Senators Graham John McCain Tom Cotton John Barrasso Cory Gardner Joni Ernst and Dan Sullivan in June 2016 Foreign policy Graham supports an interventionist foreign policy 193 In 2002 he voted for the Iraq Resolution which authorized military action against Iraq 194 He also supported the invasion of Iraq 195 Graham and Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman who were frequently dubbed the three amigos traveled widely pushing for American military intervention particularly after the September 11 attacks Their influence reached its zenith in 2007 as President Bush advocated for his surge strategy in Iraq declining shortly before Lieberman retired from the Senate in 2013 196 197 Kelly Ayotte who joined the Senate in 2011 was considered Lieberman s replacement in the group 198 199 Graham was a frequent critic of the foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration He threatened to derail the confirmation of Obama s nominee for secretary of defense Republican former Senator Chuck Hagel a centrist 200 Graham remarked that Hagel would be the most antagonistic secretary of defense towards the state of Israel in our nation s history 201 On February 28 2013 Graham criticized Obama and both political parties on the Senate floor for allowing the budget reduction to occur with two thirds of the budget exempt from reductions and said the impact on the Department of Defense would create a hollow military that invites aggression 202 203 204 205 War in Afghanistan nbsp John McCain and Lindsey Graham along with Lt Gen Richard P Mills in Afghanistan 2010Main article War in Afghanistan 2001 present Graham suggested that the U S stay in Afghanistan permanently claiming that this would benefit both nations as the U S would have a clear idea of what was happening in the region on a daily basis and Afghan security forces would have an edge militarily to ensure that Afghanistan never fell back into the hands of the Taliban 206 He further claimed that Afghan leaders accept this long term U S military presence since it benefits them but Iran and some of its allies oppose it a debatable claim 207 Graham vehemently opposed Joe Biden s plan to withdraw all U S troops from Afghanistan He suggested that this plan puts the U S in danger and could cause another 9 11 208 Soon after the withdrawal of U S troops started the Taliban launched an offensive against the Afghan government quickly advancing in front of a collapsing Afghan Armed Forces 209 On July 8 2021 Graham called President Biden s decision a disaster in the making 210 Iran On November 6 2010 Graham called for a preemptive military strike to weaken the Iranian regime 211 In 2011 he supported a continuing U S military presence in Iraq saying If we re not smart enough to work with the Iraqis to have 10 000 to 15 000 American troops in Iraq in 2012 Iraq could go to hell 212 On an episode of Fox and Friends Graham joked that it would be terrible if a DNA test showed he had Iranian ancestry Co host Brian Kilmeade responded Well they have great people just bad leaders which Graham confirmed 213 214 The president of the National Iranian American Council 214 and a number of high profile Iranian Americans criticized Graham s comments 215 213 During the 2023 Israel Hamas war Graham called for the U S to threaten Iran s oil infrastructure if the conflict escalated 216 In a CNN interview he called for the U S and Israel to bomb Iran even if it wasn t involved in Hamas s attack on Israel He also said that the U S would win a war with Iran if it broke out 217 Russia nbsp Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko presents the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise to Graham December 30 2016In December 2010 Graham was one of 26 senators to vote against the ratification of New Start 218 a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the U S and the Russian Federation obliging both countries to have no more than 1 550 strategic warheads or 700 launchers deployed during the next seven years along with providing a continuation of on site inspections that halted when START I expired the previous year It was the first arms treaty with Russia in eight years 219 In August 2011 Graham co sponsored a resolution that contended that Russia s invasion of Georgian land in 2008 was an act of aggression not only to Georgia but to all new democracies citation needed On July 16 2013 Graham suggested the United States should consider boycotting the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi Russia because of what the Russian government is doing throughout the world 220 Russo Ukrainian War On March 3 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine Graham tweeted The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out referring to Vladimir Putin The tweet which was viewed as suggesting that a Russian resident should assassinate Putin drew backlash from American politicians who condemned the idea and proposed heavier sanctions instead 221 On May 26 2023 the Office of the President of Ukraine released an edited video showing Graham talking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and remarking that the Russians are dying followed by a comment that the American military assistance to Ukraine was the best money we ve ever spent 222 223 In response Graham was sharply criticized by the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev The Office of the President of Ukraine later released the unedited version of the interview clarifying that Graham s two remarks were unrelated 224 225 On May 29 2023 the Russian Interior Ministry issued an arrest warrant for Graham for his comments about the war In response Graham tweeted that the news brought him immense joy and that he would wear the arrest warrant issued by Putin s corrupt and immoral government as a Badge of Honor 226 In a follow up tweet Graham added that he would submit to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court should Russia attempt to serve the warrant 227 Libya Graham supported the NATO led military intervention in Libya 228 On January 29 2013 Graham said that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got away with murder after her testimony about the 2012 Benghazi attack 229 but the next year he said that the House Intelligence Committee report on Benghazi was full of crap and that the Obama administration had been cleared of many of the charges therein 230 231 232 Israel Palestine nbsp Graham attended the opening of the U S Embassy to Israel in Jerusalem in May 2018 nbsp Graham with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu on March 15 2019On January 5 2017 Graham condemned Obama for abstaining from UN Security Council Resolution 2334 which condemned Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem as a violation of international law 233 On March 11 2019 Graham said he would encourage the Trump administration to recognize the Golan Heights as part of Israel 234 On October 10 2023 Graham tweeted that he unapologetically stand s with Israel during the 2023 Israel Hamas war 235 He called the conflict a religious war and said that Gaza should be flattened 236 On October 31 2023 Graham said that no amount of civilian casualties in Gaza would lead him to question Israel s goal of eradicating Hamas 237 238 Venezuela In May 2019 Graham called for a military invasion of Venezuela to overthrow Nicolas Maduro amid the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis 239 Niger In October 2017 in the wake of the Tongo Tongo ambush which killed four U S soldiers Graham said I didn t know there was a thousand troops in Niger 240 A few days later he called for an expanded role of the U S military in Niger You re going to see more actions in Africa not less you re going to see more aggression by the United States toward our enemies not less you re going to have decisions being made not in the White House but out in the field 241 Syria In July 2018 Graham and Senator Jeanne Shaheen visited Manbij in Syria and met the Manbij Military Council which led an offensive to liberate the city from ISIS in 2016 with help from the US led coalition 242 Saudi Arabia In March 2015 Graham supported the Saudi Arabian led intervention in Yemen 243 saying We want to have a relationship with Saudi Arabia They re a strategic partner They re a mortal enemy of the Iranians 244 In June 2019 he was one of seven Republicans to vote to block Trump s Saudi arms deal providing weapons to Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates and Jordan and one of five Republicans to vote against an additional 20 arms sales 245 In late 2019 Graham took a warmer approach toward Saudi Arabia He praised the Trump administration for sending thousands of additional troops to Saudi Arabia to counter Iran s threat 246 He also praised Saudi Arabia for opening its airspace to Israeli flights 247 TurkeyIn October 2019 Graham said he would introduce bipartisan sanctions against Turkey if they invade Syria and that he would call for their suspension from NATO if they attack Kurdish forces who assisted the US in the destruction of the ISIS Caliphate 248 Armenian genocide In November 2019 Graham blocked a Senate resolution to officially recognize the Armenian genocide 249 In December 2019 he voted for the resolution which passed the Senate unanimously 250 Robert Mueller s investigation Main articles Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and Mueller special counsel investigation In January 2018 and in the first known congressional criminal referral in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election Graham and Chuck Grassley recommended charges against ex MI6 officer Christopher Steele named as author of the Steele dossier 251 Grassley and Graham said that they had reason to believe that Steele had lied to federal authorities 251 According to The New York Times It was not clear why if a crime is apparent in the F B I reports that were reviewed by the Judiciary Committee the Justice Department had not moved to charge Mr Steele already The circumstances under which Mr Steele is alleged to have lied were unclear as much of the referral was classified 251 In April 2018 after the FBI raid on the hotel room and offices of Trump s personal attorney Michael Cohen Graham Cory Booker Chris Coons and Thom Tillis introduced new legislation to limit President Trump s ability to fire special counsel Robert Mueller Termed the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act the legislation would allow any special counsel in this case Mueller receive an expedited judicial review in the 10 days after being dismissed to determine whether the dismissal was appropriate If not the special counsel would be reinstated At the same time according to The Hill the bill would codify regulations that a special counsel could only be fired by a senior Justice Department official having to provide reasons in writing 252 On March 14 2019 Graham blocked a resolution calling for Mueller s report to be made public after it passed the House unanimously 253 After Mueller s testimony to two congressional committees on July 24 2019 Graham speculated that the Mueller report is in name only It clearly wasn t the Mueller report It was just in name 254 On June 25 2019 Graham said The president gave 1 4 million documents to Mueller Don McGahn his lawyer testified for 30 hours He made everybody available to Mueller that Mueller wanted to talk to and he answered questions in writing so this president did nothing to stop Mueller from finding the truth 255 Taxation Although Graham signed Grover Norquist s Taxpayer Protection Pledge in June 2012 he went on record supporting the closure of tax loopholes without compensating decreases in other tax revenue saying We re so far in debt that if you don t give up some ideological ground the country sinks 256 Trade The Cato Institute s Center for Trade Policy Studies identifies Graham during his U S House and U S Senate tenure as having a mostly protectionist and pro subsidies voting record 257 258 2015 Charleston church shooting and Confederate flag issue After a mass shooting at a historic African American church in Charleston on June 17 2015 Graham canceled all campaign events to return to South Carolina In response to questions from the press regarding the calls from some to remove the Confederate flag at a war memorial on the South Carolina State Capitol grounds Graham said Well at the end of the day it s time for people in South Carolina to revisit that decision That would be fine with me but this is part of who we are He continued The flag represents to some people a civil war and that was the symbol of one side To others it s a racist symbol and it s been used by people it s been used in a racist way 259 Of the shooter responsible for the incident Graham said We re not going to give this a guy an excuse about a book he might have read or a movie he watched or a song he listened to or a symbol out anywhere It s him not the flag 260 In a statement issued later Graham said There can be no doubt that the shooting was racially motivated and signals to all of us that the scars of our history are still with us today This murderer said he wanted to start a race war he has failed miserably In Charleston this weekend I saw a community coming together I saw people seeking solace in what they share together not in what makes them different 261 Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 Graham was among the 31 Senate Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 262 Campaign contributionsIn 2016 The Boston Globe reported that Graham was the only Republican recipient of money from a major Democratic donor now facing scrutiny for some questionable campaign donation habits 263 The Thornton Law Firm is nationally known for its expertise in asbestos related litigation Over a ten year period Graham received 62 800 in campaign contributions from the firm s partners The Boston Globe found that the firm in almost every case would reimburse partners political contributions in the exact amount 263 within 10 days of the contributions being made Between 2010 and 2014 the firm s partners and one of their wives contributed 1 6 million to politicians 1 4 million was given back to the partners from the firm The firm told reporters that according to outside consultants the practice was not unlawful because the checks are not bonuses instead coming out of the partners firm equity accounts 263 A spokesman for Graham said that Graham would return the money he received from the firm s lawyers if the law firm were indicted or convicted on corruption charges 263 Presidential politicsMain article Lindsey Graham 2016 presidential campaign nbsp Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Senators John McCain John Barrasso and Lindsey Graham in Jerusalem on January 3 2014Graham supported John McCain for president in 2000 and served as national co chair of McCain s 2008 presidential campaign 11 264 In 2012 Graham s endorsement was highly sought 265 but he declined to endorse a Republican candidate before the January South Carolina Republican primary 266 After Rick Santorum withdrew from the race in April 2012 leaving Mitt Romney as the presumptive nominee Graham endorsed Romney 267 During his Senate reelection race in October 2014 while discussing immigration and foreign policy issues with a reporter from The Weekly Standard Graham said If I get through my general election if nobody steps up in the presidential mix if nobody s out there talking I may just jump in to get to make these arguments 268 On March 7 2015 at a Politics and Pies forum Graham advocated the reversal of defense spending cuts and quipped If I were President of the United States I wouldn t let Congress leave town until we fix this I would literally use the military to keep them in if I had to 269 On April 19 2015 Graham told Chris Wallace on the Fox News Sunday show that he was 91 sure he would run for president If I can raise the money I ll do it he said 270 On May 18 2015 Graham informally announced that he would run for president on CBS This Morning saying he was running because he thinks the world is falling apart 271 Graham announced his candidacy for President on June 1 2015 272 On December 21 2015 Graham suspended his presidential campaign due to lack of support and poor polling and on January 15 2016 endorsed former Florida Governor Jeb Bush 273 After it appeared certain that Donald Trump would become the Republican nominee in May 2016 Graham announced that he would not vote for Trump or Hillary Clinton commenting I think Donald Trump is going to places where very few people have gone and I m not going with him 274 On November 8 2016 Graham announced that he had voted for Evan McMullin 275 Electoral historySouth Carolina s 3rd congressional district results 1994 2000 276 Year Democratic Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd party Party Votes Pct1994 James E Bryan Jr 59 932 40 Lindsey Graham 90 123 60 1996 Debbie Dorn 73 417 39 Lindsey Graham incumbent 114 273 60 Lindal Pennington Natural Law 1 835 1 1998 no candidate Lindsey Graham incumbent 129 047 100 Write ins 402 lt 1 2000 George Brightharp 67 170 30 Lindsey Graham incumbent 150 180 68 Adrian Banks Libertarian 3 116 1 Write in and minor candidate notes In 1994 write ins received 13 votes In 2000 Natural Law candidate LeRoy J Klein received 1 122 votes and write ins received 33 votes George Brightharp ran under both the Democratic and United Citizens Parties and received 2 253 votes on the United Citizen line Senate elections in South Carolina Class II results 2002 2014 276 Year Democratic Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd party Party Votes Pct 3rd party Party Votes Pct2002 Alex Sanders 487 359 44 Lindsey Graham 600 010 54 Ted Adams Constitution 8 228 1 Victor Kocher Libertarian 6 648 1 2008 Bob Conley 785 559 42 Lindsey Graham incumbent 1 069 137 58 Write ins 608 lt 1 2014 Brad Hutto 480 933 39 Lindsey Graham incumbent 672 941 54 Thomas Ravenel Independent 47 588 4 Victor Kocher Libertarian 33 839 3 2020 Jaime Harrison 1 110 828 44 Lindsey Graham incumbent 1 369 137 54 Bill Bledsoe Constitution 32 845 1 Primary elections 2008 United States Senate Republican primary election in South Carolina 277 Party Candidate Votes Republican Lindsey Graham incumbent 187 736 66 84 Republican Buddy Witherspoon 93 125 33 16 Total votes 280 861 100 00 2014 United States Senate Republican primary election in South Carolina 278 Party Candidate Votes Republican Lindsey Graham incumbent 178 833 56 42 Republican Lee Bright 48 904 15 43 Republican Richard Cash 26 325 8 30 Republican Det Bowers 23 172 7 31 Republican Nancy Mace 19 634 6 19 Republican Bill Connor 16 912 5 34 Republican Benjamin Dunn 3 209 1 01 Total votes 316 989 100 00 2020 United States Senate Republican primary election in South Carolina 279 Party Candidate Votes Republican Lindsey Graham incumbent 317 512 67 69 Republican Michael LaPierre 79 932 17 04 Republican Joe Reynolds 43 029 9 17 Republican Duke Buckner 28 570 6 09 Total votes 469 043 100 00 Personal lifeGraham helped raise his sister Darline Graham Nordone after the deaths of his mother and father which occurred within 15 months of each other 280 leaving the two without parents when Graham was 22 and she was 13 Graham has said that his parents early deaths made him mature more quickly and Nordone who introduced her brother at his 2016 announcement of his candidacy for president said she hoped to be with him on the campaign trail frequently to show voters his softer side He s kind of like a brother a father and a mother rolled into one she said I ve always looked up to Lindsey 281 Having never married or had children 11 Graham has said I never found time to meet the right girl or the right girl was smart enough not to have time for me According to his memoir while in law school he had a girlfriend named Debbie and two more during his time in the Air Force in Germany a JAG officer named Carol who later served on Colin Powell s staff and a flight attendant named Sylvia whom he considered proposing to 282 He has denied being gay 283 Graham lives in Seneca South Carolina A Southern Baptist he is a member of the Corinth Baptist Church 26 See alsoConspiracy theories related to the Trump Ukraine scandal Republican Party presidential candidates 2016References a b Whitlock Craig May 31 2015 5 Things You Should Know About Lindsey Graham NPR Archived from the original on July 4 2017 Retrieved March 25 2019 a b Dann Carrie December 21 2015 South Carolina Sen Lindsey Graham Ends Republican Presidential Bid NBC News Retrieved September 28 2020 a b Martin Jonathan May 9 2013 Lindsey Graham faces down primary challenge Politico Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved October 8 2014 a b Podgers James August 5 2012 Sen Lindsey Graham Qualifications of Judicial Nominees Should Count More Than Politics ABA Journal Chicago Illinois American Bar Association Retrieved October 8 2014 a b Maass Harold May 9 2013 Is Lindsey Graham going to get primaried The Week Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved October 8 2014 a b c d Killian Linda June 10 2014 Lindsey Graham vs the Tea Party The Wall Street Journal New York City Archived from the original on September 29 2019 Retrieved October 11 2014 a b c d Jonsson Patrik June 11 2014 The un Cantor Sen Lindsey Graham wins by poking eye of tea party video The Christian Science Monitor Boston Massachusetts Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved October 11 2014 a b Altman Alex November 5 2013 Lindsey Graham The Bipartisan Dealmaker Finds Issues to Please GOP Base Time New York City Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved October 11 2014 a b c Wagstaff Keith August 26 2013 Can Lindsey Graham survive the Tea Party s wrath The Week Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved October 8 2014 a b c d Raju Manu April 23 2014 How Lindsey Graham outmaneuvered the tea party Politico Retrieved April 24 2014 a b c d e f Draper Robert July 1 2010 Lindsey Graham This Year s Maverick The New York Times Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved October 9 2014 a b c d e f g Ball Molly June 10 2014 How Lindsey Graham Stomped the Tea Party The Atlantic Boston Massachusetts Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved October 9 2014 a b c d Murphy Patricia June 10 2014 Lindsey Graham s Tea Party Teflon The Daily Beast Retrieved October 11 2014 Rappeport Alan June 21 2015 Lindsey Graham Announces Presidential Bid The New York Times Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved June 21 2015 Hains Tim June 7 2016 Lindsey Graham Takes The Off Ramp I m Not Supporting Mr Trump RealClearPolitics citing NBC news Archived from the original on March 27 2019 Retrieved November 17 2020 a b c Miller Lisa September 16 2018 The Little Jerk Once defined by his loathing for Trump Lindsey Graham is now all in for the president Why New York Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 28 2020 Parker Kathleen January 15 2019 What did they do with Lindsey Graham The Washington Post Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 28 2020 Senate Judiciary Committee sets confirmation hearing for Trump attorney general pick William Barr Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved March 30 2022 Summers Juana June 28 2015 Presidential Aspiration Born From A Modest And Tragic Beginning NPR Retrieved January 7 2021 first lived in a room behind his family s business the Sanitary Cafe Hawes Jennifer Berry November 6 2020 An unlikely ascent Love loss loyalty law shape his brand of retail politics Last in polls last in debates How long does he go on Post and Courier Retrieved January 7 2021 His dad Florence James Graham He and his wife Millie ran the bar a b c d e f g Grove Lloyd October 7 1998 Lindsey Graham a Twang of Moderation The Washington Post Washington DC Archived from the original on December 18 2018 Retrieved October 9 2014 Millie Walters Graham 1976 obituary South Carolina The Greenville News June 11 1976 p 10 Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved November 17 2020 Notable Pi Kapps pikapp org Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 28 2020 Congress Members Lindsey Graham The Washington Post Archived from the original on October 29 2014 Retrieved November 17 2020 a b Plain talk from GOP senator The Baltimore Sun May 11 2004 Archived from the original on October 16 2014 Retrieved October 12 2014 a b c Biography lgraham senate gov Office of Senator Lindsey Graham Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 28 2020 Lindsey Graham Fast Facts CNN Atlanta GA November 9 2020 Enlightenment The Experience Festival Archived from the original on April 4 2012 Retrieved August 29 2010 S C Rep Gulf War Past Questioned Associated Press February 19 1998 Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved August 10 2014 Pareene Alex May 20 2010 Lindsey Graham s war lie Bigger than Richard Blumenthal s Salon Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved June 6 2014 a b c d Whitlock Craig August 2 2015 Sen Graham moved up in Air Force Reserve ranks despite light duties The Washington Post Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved June 12 2017 60 M J 781 C A A F 2004 as referenced in United States v Lane 05 0260 Armed Forces App September 20 2006 Wright Robin August 28 2007 After Tour of Duty in Iraq Graham Backs Surge The Washington Post Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 28 2020 Day Thomas L September 6 2009 Military Notebook Robins to hold birthday bash for Air Force The Sun News Archived from the original on September 14 2009 Retrieved September 7 2009 Bradner Eric May 30 2015 Lindsey Graham retires from Air Force ahead of expected White House run CNN Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved May 30 2015 South Carolina Election Commission Annual Report 1992 1993 PDF Columbia South Carolina Election Commission 1993 p 96 Archived from the original PDF on June 2 2022 a b c d e SC State House 002 ourcampaigns com Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved October 9 2014 Pace David November 6 1997 17 in House seek probe to impeach president Newspapers com The Record The Associated Press Retrieved March 4 2021 a b Hutcheson Ron November 17 1997 Some House Republicans can t wait for elections Newspapers com Asheville Citizen Times Knight Rider Newspapers Barkham Patrick November 18 1998 Clinton impeachment timeline The Guardian Retrieved March 6 2021 Roll Call 498 Roll Call 498 Bill Number H Res 581 105th Congress 2nd Session clerk house gov Office of the Clerk U S House of Representatives October 8 1998 Retrieved March 1 2021 The Education Of Senator Lindsey Graham Bloomberg Businessweek February 27 2005 Archived from the original on October 22 2012 Retrieved June 6 2014 a b Roll Call 546 Roll Call 546 Bill Number H Res 611 105th Congress 2nd Session Office of the Clerk U S House of Representatives December 19 1998 Retrieved March 6 2021 a b Roll Call 545 Roll Call 545 Bill Number H Res 611 105th Congress 2nd Session Office of the Clerk U S House of Representatives December 19 1998 Retrieved March 6 2021 a b Roll Call 544 Roll Call 544 Bill Number H Res 611 105th Congress 2nd Session Office of the Clerk U S House of Representatives December 19 1998 Retrieved March 6 2021 a b Washington U S Capitol Room H154 p 225 7000 DC 20515 6601 December 19 1998 Roll Call 543 Roll Call 543 Bill Number H Res 611 105th Congress 2nd Session Office of the Clerk U S House of Representatives Retrieved March 6 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link Prosecution Who s Who The Washington Post January 14 1999 Retrieved February 28 2021 Trandahl Jeff 2003 Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5 2002 Washington D C United States House of Representatives p 42 SC Election Results enr scvotes org Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved November 7 2008 Statewide Results 2008 Republican and Democratic Primary South Carolina State Election Commission June 27 2008 Retrieved September 10 2022 South Carolina Senate 2008 Race OpenSecrets org OpenSecrets Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved October 9 2014 a b Kludt Tom April 8 2014 Lindsey Graham Faces Big But Weak Field of Challengers NBC News Retrieved April 24 2014 Kludt Tom October 30 2013 Poll Lindsey Graham s Approval Rating Tumbles In S C Talking Points Memo Archived from the original on September 11 2017 Retrieved February 14 2014 Rosen James February 19 2012 Graham I expect a primary challenge The State Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 28 2020 Sullivan Sean September 20 2012 Lindsey Graham 2014 target The Washington Post Archived from the original on May 14 2015 Retrieved April 24 2014 Martin Jonathan June 10 2014 In South Carolina Graham Prevails Without a Runoff The New York Times Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 17 2014 Clement Scott February 26 2014 Poll Lindsey Graham trouncing crowded primary field The Washington Post Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved August 13 2014 South Carolina Primary Election Results The New York Times Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved November 17 2019 SC Election Results enr scvotes org Fearnow Benjamin December 15 2019 Lindsey Graham s Democratic Challenger Nearly Tied in Heavily Republican South Carolina Poll Shows Newsweek Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 28 2020 Graham fends off Harrison in South Carolina Senate race Archived November 17 2020 at the Wayback Machine Politico November 3 2020 Swoyer Alex Dinan Stephen November 16 2018 Lindsey Graham poised to become Judiciary chairman Chuck Grassley moves to Finance The Washington Times Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 20 2020 Merlino John J March 30 2023 Committee and Subcommittee Assignments for the One Hundred Eighteenth Congress PDF U S Government Publishing Office Archived PDF from the original on December 5 2023 Retrieved December 5 2023 U S Senate Committees www senate gov Archived from the original on December 5 2023 Retrieved December 5 2023 Lindsey Graham Republican Elected 2003 SC Senate district MapLight Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved October 8 2014 BOARD OF DIRECTORS iri org International Republican Institute Archived from the original on April 28 2010 Retrieved July 16 2010 Moody Chris July 22 2015 Donald Trump gave out Lindsey Graham s personal cell number to America CNN Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 19 2019 Kopan Tal December 8 2015 Lindsey Graham Tell Donald Trump to go to hell CNN Archived from the original on July 19 2019 Retrieved July 19 2019 Graham calls Biden lawfully elected says enough is enough following breach of Capitol Fox News January 8 2021 erroneously says the tweet was in 2015 Raju Manu Scott Eugene Walsh Deirdre June 7 2016 Graham Trump s judge comments un American CNN Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 19 2019 Wang Amy November 9 2019 Sen Lindsey Graham I voted Evan McMullin for president The Washington Post Archived from the original on August 8 2017 Retrieved July 19 2019 Quigley Aidan July 3 2019 Graham I gave my new phone number to Trump Politico Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 19 2019 Feit Noah October 14 2017 Graham had such a good time golfing with Trump they played again Saturday The State Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 19 2019 a b Kwong Jessica July 18 2019 Lindsey Graham says Donald Trump s not racist but called him a race baiting bigot in 2015 Newsweek Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 19 2019 Shugerman Emily December 1 2017 Senior Republican s attack on the media s portrayal of Trump massively backfires The Independent Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 19 2019 Bryd Caitlin April 19 2018 Lindsey Graham and Henry McMaster promise to back Trump in 2020 bid The Post and Courier Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 19 2019 McLeod Paul January 15 2019 What The Hell Happened To Lindsey Graham BuzzFeed News Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 19 2019 Leibovich Mark February 25 2019 How Lindsey Graham Went From Trump Skeptic to Trump Sidekick The New York Times Magazine Archived from the original on June 6 2019 Retrieved July 19 2019 Watson Kathryn August 25 2018 The lasting friendship of John McCain and Lindsey Graham CBS News Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 20 2019 Zhao Christina March 27 2019 Lindsey Graham says people angry over Trump s McCain attacks don t really care You just hate Trump Newsweek Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 19 2019 Rogers Katie September 1 2018 Washington Mourned John McCain President Trump Played Golf The New York Times Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 19 2019 Stracqualursi Veronica August 28 2019 Graham says Trump called him after McCain tribute speech CNN Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved January 3 2020 Cummings William May 14 2019 This is not the Lindsey I know Graham takes heat for advising Trump Jr to ignore subpoena USA Today Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved May 14 2019 Gearan Anne Kim Seung Min Dawsey Josh August 11 2018 Trump condemns all types of racism after a week of racially tinged remarks The Washington Post Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 19 2019 Allen Mike October 9 2019 Lindsey Graham on Trump He s putting the nation at risk Axios Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 28 2020 Sykes Charles October 7 2019 The Humiliation of Lindsey Graham Politico Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 28 2020 Stracqualursi Veronica December 14 2019 I m not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here Graham predicts Trump impeachment will die quickly in Senate CNN Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 28 2020 Republican tactics spark Democratic claims that impeachment trial is rigged CNN December 16 2019 Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved December 17 2019 Thuman Scott October 10 2019 The legal fight over impeachment continues WJLA Sinclair Broadcast Group Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved December 17 2019 Mastrangelo Nick November 8 2020 Graham If Trump concedes election Republicans will never elect another president The Hill Retrieved November 19 2020 Luna Kaitlyn November 6 2020 Lindsey Graham donates 500K toward President Trump s legal battle in key battleground states WBTW Retrieved November 19 2020 Otterbein Holly November 11 2020 Pennsylvania GOP rallies to Trump s defense Politico Archived from the original on December 29 2020 Retrieved November 19 2020 Castronuovo Celine November 7 2020 Graham vows Senate Judiciary will investigate voting irregularities The Hill Retrieved November 19 2020 Boburg Shawn Bogage Jacob Bennett Dalton November 12 2020 Audio recording shows Pa postal worker recanting ballot tampering claim The Washington Post Archived from the original on November 12 2020 Retrieved November 19 2020 a b c d e Garder Amy Ga secretary of state says fellow Republicans are pressuring him to find ways to exclude ballots The Washington Post Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved November 17 2020 Gregorian Dareh Clark Dartunorro November 18 2020 Georgia officials spar with Sen Lindsey Graham over alleged ballot tossing comments NBC News Associated Press Archived from the original on November 18 2020 Retrieved November 19 2020 a b c Kane Paul November 17 2020 Lindsey Graham s one man voting probe prompts confusion The Washington Post Archived from the original on November 18 2020 Retrieved November 19 2020 Gardner Amy Hamburger Tom Dawsey Josh Graham s post election call with Raffensperger will be scrutinized in Georgia probe person familiar with inquiry says The Washington Post Senator Graham on Arizona Objection C SPAN January 6 2021 Retrieved January 7 2021 Sen Lindsey Graham releases statement on acquittal of President Trump in second impeachment trial www wtoc com WTOC February 13 2021 Retrieved March 6 2021 Which senators supported a Jan 6 Capitol riot commission Washington Post May 28 2021 Thrush Glenn Becker Jo Hakim Danny August 14 2021 Tap Dancing With Trump Lindsey Graham s Quest for Relevance The New York Times Archived from the original on August 14 2021 Bort Ryan January 31 2023 Lindsey Graham Makes Desperate Case for Trump as 2024 Bid Sputters Rolling Stone Retrieved February 7 2023 Kady II Martin July 23 2009 Graham a yes on Sotomayor Politico Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved February 8 2015 a b Allan Nicole July 20 2010 Lindsey Graham Dramatically Casts His Vote for Elena Kagan The Atlantic Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved October 8 2014 The Lugar Center McCourt School Bipartisan Index PDF Washington D C The Lugar Center April 24 2018 Archived PDF from the original on July 2 2018 Retrieved July 2 2018 Ankel Sophia September 19 2020 Use my words against me A 2016 video of Lindsey Graham saying a Supreme Court vacancy should never be filled in an election year is going viral Business Insider Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 20 2020 Connelly Eileen AJ September 19 2020 Sen Graham reverses earlier statements supports Trump filling SCOTUS vacancy New York Post Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 20 2020 Naughtie Andrew September 19 2020 Lindsey Graham repeatedly insisted that Supreme Court vacancies shouldn t be filled in election years The Independent Archived from the original on September 20 2020 Retrieved September 19 2020 Schwartz Matthew September 19 2020 Use My Words Against Me Lindsey Graham s Shifting Position On Court Vacancies NPR Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 19 2020 Stolberg Sheryl Gay September 16 2018 Kavanaugh s Nomination in Turmoil as Accuser Says He Assaulted Her Decades Ago The New York Times Archived from the original on January 4 2020 Retrieved September 28 2020 After Ford s testimony Sen Graham says he feels ambushed ABC News Archived from the original on March 27 2019 Retrieved September 27 2018 Lindsey Graham erupts during Kavanaugh hearing CNN October 1 2018 Archived from the original on October 3 2018 Retrieved April 10 2022 Sullivan Sean Kim Seung Min September 20 2020 Graham an institutionalist turned Trump loyalist will play a central role in Supreme Court battle The Washington Post Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 28 2020 Axelrod Tal September 19 2020 Graham signals support for confirming a Supreme Court nominee this year The Hill Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 19 2020 Axelrod Tal May 16 2020 Graham on potential Supreme Court vacancy This would be a different circumstance than Merrick Garland The Hill Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 19 2020 Kapur Sahil August 3 2020 Democrats warn GOP Don t fill a Supreme Court vacancy in 2020 NBC News Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 19 2020 a b Edmondson Catie September 21 2020 You Would Do the Same Graham Is Defiant on Supreme Court Reversal The New York Times Archived from the original on September 23 2020 Retrieved September 23 2020 Fortier Benson Tony September 19 2020 Sen Lindsey Graham says he will support Trump s SCOTUS pick for two reasons WLOS Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 20 2020 Baker Peter Haberman Maggie September 19 2020 Trump Presses for New Justice Without Delay as Election Season Battle Looms The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 20 2020 Mataconis Doug April 3 2011 Lindsey Graham On Koran Burning Freedom Of Speech Is A Great Idea But We re In A War Outside the Beltway Archived from the original on January 11 2018 Retrieved September 28 2020 a b Greenwald Glenn April 4 2011 The most uncounted cost of Endless War Salon Archived from the original on September 4 2011 Retrieved September 28 2020 Sullivan Andrew April 3 2011 Free Speech Is A Great Idea But The Atlantic Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 28 2020 Hunter Jack April 7 2011 Lindsey Graham s War on Freedom The American Conservative Archived from the original on April 10 2011 Gerhardt Michael Painter Richard 2012 Extraordinary Circumstances The Legacy of theGang of 14 and a Proposal for Judicial NominationsReform University of Richmond Law Review 46 969 969 Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved October 31 2020 Senators compromise on filibusters CNN May 24 2005 Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved October 31 2020 Kopan Tal June 6 2013 Lindsey Graham glad NSA tracking phones Politico Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved November 1 2014 McLaughlin Seth June 6 2013 GOP Sen Graham says he s glad NSA is collecting phone records The Washington Times Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved November 1 2014 S 1372 at Congress gov S 1372 Archived January 7 2021 at the Wayback Machine at GovTrack S 1372 Archived December 3 2013 at the Wayback Machine at OpenCongress Zengerle Patricia July 25 2013 U S lawmakers want sanctions on any country taking in Snowden Reuters Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 28 2020 U S Senate advances law pressuring Russia not to give Snowden asylum Xinhua July 26 2013 Archived from the original on October 21 2013 Retrieved February 10 2014 FY14 Full Committee Markup of State Foreign Operations and Financial Services General Government Bills Podcast United States Senate Committee on Appropriations July 25 2013 Event occurs at 1 10 08 Lewis Neil A July 28 2005 Military s Opposition to Harsh Interrogation Is Outlined The New York Times Archived from the original on September 19 2006 Retrieved September 30 2006 Savage Charlie December 1 2011 Senate Declines to Clarify Rights of American Qaeda Suspects Arrested in U S The New York Times Archived from the original on February 28 2019 Retrieved September 28 2020 S8859 Archived November 17 2020 at the Wayback Machine The Graham Amendment ACLU Urges Congress to Reject Court Stripping Measure Proposal Denies Detainees the Right to Challenge the Use of Torture aclu org American Civil Liberties Union November 10 2005 Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 28 2020 Brecher Jeremy Smith Brendan November 14 2005 Right To Trial Imperiled by Senate Vote The Nation Archived from the original on May 12 2017 Retrieved September 28 2020 FRONTLINE Interview Rumsfeld s War Archived November 17 2020 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved February 10 2009 FRONTLINE Interview The Choice 2008 Archived November 16 2018 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved February 10 2009 Bazelon Emily March 27 2006 Invisible Men Did Lindsey Graham and Jon Kyl mislead the Supreme Court Slate Archived from the original on August 11 2011 Retrieved September 28 2020 I Just Saw This on CNN com Sen Graham on Gitmo detainees CNN Archived from the original on October 15 2014 Retrieved May 7 2010 Kennedy alliance costly to GOP senators The Washington Times June 8 2007 Archived from the original on March 8 2008 Retrieved November 17 2020 Blake Aaron June 22 2007 Immigration stance hurts Graham at home poll finds The Hill Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 Blake Aaron November 14 2007 RNC official inches toward Graham battle The Hill Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 Graham romps to easy win over challenger Witherspoon The State June 11 2008 permanent dead link Schumer Chuck Graham Lindsey March 19 2010 The right way to mend immigration The Washington Post Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Retrieved October 11 2014 a b Sens Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham give bipartisan push to immigration reform plan New York Daily News Associated Press November 11 2012 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Retrieved October 11 2014 Siegel Elyse July 29 2010 Lindsey Graham Birthright Citizenship Is A Mistake We Should Change Constitution The Huffington Post Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Retrieved September 29 2020 Victoria Carty Tekle Woldemikael Rafael Luevano May 23 2014 Scholars and Southern Californian Immigrants in Dialogue New Conversations in Public Sociology Lexington Books p 75 ISBN 9780739176184 Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved November 17 2020 Senators Reach a Bipartisan Agreement for Comprehensive Immigration Reform The National Law Review Fowler White Boggs P A January 31 2013 Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved February 1 2013 Isenstadt Alex June 23 2013 Graham We re close to 70 votes on immigration reform Politico Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved June 24 2013 Alvarez Priscilla May 15 2019 Graham introduces bill that would change asylum process and try to slow flow of migrants CNN Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 13 2019 Pengelly Martin July 14 2019 Trump claims migrant detention center visited by Pence was clean but crowded The Guardian Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 15 2019 Jones Rhett May 16 2018 Here s the Name of Every Senator Who Voted Against Net Neutrality and When to Vote Them Out Gizmodo Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved April 26 2020 Roll Call Votes 115th Congress 1st Session On the Joint Resolution S J Res 34 senate gov United States Senate Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved April 26 2020 What They Are Saying Advocacy Groups amp Survivors Voice Support for the EARN IT Act Senator Richard Blumenthal February 8 2022 Retrieved December 15 2022 S 3538 EARN IT Act of 2022 Congress gov Retrieved December 15 2022 Graham won t join gun legislation filibuster CNN March 31 2013 Archived from the original on April 4 2013 Retrieved November 1 2014 Freedman Dan March 30 2013 Why NRA says background checks lead to confiscation Houston Chronicle Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved November 1 2014 Senator Lindsey Graham Calls Current Gun Laws Broken WSAV3 Archived from the original on November 2 2014 Retrieved November 1 2014 Wallace Gregory March 6 2013 Graham introduces background check bill with NRA backing CNN Archived from the original on March 8 2013 Retrieved November 1 2014 Bash Dana Raju Manu Judd Donald June 12 2022 Bipartisan group of senators announces agreement on gun control CNN Retrieved June 12 2022 Roll Call Vote 111th Congress 1st Session On Passage of the Bill H R 3590 as Amended senate gov United States Senate Archived from the original on July 18 2011 Retrieved September 28 2020 Roll Call Vote 111th Congress 2nd Session Roll Call Vote On Passage of the Bill H R 4872 As Amended senate gov United States Senate Archived from the original on August 4 2010 Retrieved August 29 2010 Kliff Sarah September 18 2017 How Cassidy Graham brings back preexisting conditions Vox Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved August 6 2020 Bash Dana February 4 2015 Graham rebukes Paul on vaccines CNN Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 H R 36 Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act congress gov October 4 2017 Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved November 17 2019 Hains Tim July 1 2018 Lindsey Graham on Roe v Wade You Don t Overturn Precedent Unless There s A Good Reason RealClearPolitics Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved December 18 2018 Stolberg Sheryl Gay January 2 2020 More Than 200 Republicans Urge Supreme Court to Weigh Overturning Roe v Wade The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved January 4 2020 Segers Grace January 2 2020 Republican senators and congressmen ask Supreme Court to consider overturning Roe v Wade CBS News Archived from the original on January 2 2020 Retrieved January 4 2020 Hurley Lawrence Chung Andrew Brice Makini May 4 2022 Biden blasts radical draft U S Supreme Court ruling overturning abortion rights Reuters Retrieved September 22 2022 Karni Annie September 13 2022 Graham Proposes 15 Week Abortion Ban Seeking to Unite Republicans The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved September 13 2022 Saric Ivana September 7 2022 Lindsey Graham says let states decide on same sex marriage Axios Retrieved September 22 2022 Bowden John September 21 2022 Lindsey Graham taunted for making complete U turn on whether states should decide abortion rights The Independent Retrieved September 22 2022 Sen Graham introduces bill to ban abortion nationwide at 15 weeks NBC News Retrieved September 13 2022 Weixel Nathaniel September 20 2022 Graham Abortion not a states rights issue The Hill Retrieved September 22 2022 104th Congress House 2nd session Vote 300 The Washington Post The U S Congress Votes Database July 11 1996 Archived from the original on October 15 2008 Retrieved July 20 2009 Garver Rob July 24 2022 Same Sex Marriage Bill Advances in US Congress Voice of America Retrieved August 9 2022 CNN asked all 50 GOP senators if they will support the same sex marriage bill Here s where they stand CNN July 21 2022 Retrieved August 9 2022 Hickman Wes Bishop Kevin Graham Supports Constitutional Amendment Protecting Traditional Marriage lgraham senate gov Office of Senator Lindsey Graham Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 The Voter s Self Defense System Vote Smart Retrieved April 12 2022 Saric Ivana August 7 2022 Lindsey Graham says let states decide on same sex marriage Axios Retrieved August 9 2022 Tankersley Jim Simon Richard April 28 2010 Sen Lindsey Graham s bipartisan efforts bog down Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved October 11 2014 Kerry Lieberman Graham Reveal Their Climate Plan greenenergyreporter com December 10 2009 Archived from the original on March 8 2010 Retrieved April 14 2010 Green Energy Reporter Samuelsohn Darren January 27 2010 Got Ideas About a Climate Bill Kerry Graham and Lieberman Want to Hear From You Energy amp Environment The New York Times Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 20 2019 a b Broder John M April 24 2010 Graham Pulls Support for Major Senate Climate Bill The New York Times Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 Sheppard Kate June 9 2010 Lindsey Graham Said What About Climate Change Mother Jones Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 20 2019 Weaver Dustin January 21 2015 Senate votes that climate change is real The Hill Archived from the original on March 27 2019 Retrieved May 3 2019 Feeling the Heat October 14 2020 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Retrieved January 4 2021 Budryk Zach November 2 2023 Republican bill would impose fee on imports from foreign polluters The Hill Nexstar Media Group Retrieved November 20 2023 Siegel Josh November 2 2023 Senate Republicans introduce a climate bill aimed at China Politico Axel Springer SE Retrieved November 20 2023 Senate November 2 2023 PDF Congressional Record U S Government Printing Office 169 181 S5338 Retrieved November 20 2023 Hayes Stephen F October 13 2014 The Return of the GOP Hawks The Weekly Standard Retrieved October 9 2014 H J Res 114 107th Authorization for Use of Military Force Against House Vote 455 Oct 10 2002 GovTrack Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 Hickman Wes Bishop Kevin March 19 2003 Statement from Lindsey Graham on War with Iraq lgraham senate gov Office of United States Senator Lindsey Graham Retrieved September 29 2020 Steinhauer Jennifer November 26 2012 Foreign Policy s Bipartisan Trio Becomes Republican Duo The New York Times Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved November 6 2014 Helderman Rosalind S November 30 2012 Sen Ayotte offers GOP an influential new voice The Washington Post Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved November 6 2014 Trinko Katrina November 29 2012 Ayotte and the Amigos National Review Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved November 6 2014 Schweitzer Sarah July 31 2014 In the right place at the right time The Boston Globe Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved November 6 2014 Surprise Party The Atlantic Joshua Greene January February 2007 Retrieved August 17 2023 Larotonda Matthew January 6 2013 Obama Will Nominate Chuck Hagel as Next Defense Secretary ABC News Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved August 10 2014 Awesome Senators on Automatic Spending Cuts Feb 28 2013 C SPAN February 28 2013 Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved March 4 2013 Herb Jeremy February 28 2013 OVERNIGHT DEFENSE Senate bills fail on sequester s eve The Hill Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved March 4 2013 Friedman Dan February 28 2013 Capitol Hill lawmakers still show no desire to compromise to lessen economic impact of 85 billion in automatic spending cuts set to hit books March 1 New York Daily News Archived from the original on June 17 2013 Retrieved March 4 2013 Rowland Kara February 28 2013 Senator Lindsey Graham blasts fellow Republicans and President Obama Fox News Archived from the original on April 26 2015 Retrieved March 4 2013 Senator wants Karzai to address corruption U S to set up air base Pajhwok Afghan News January 3 2011 Archived from the original on March 13 2012 Retrieved January 18 2011 US presence fueling insecurity in region Iran Pajhwok Afghan News March 8 2011 Archived from the original on January 21 2020 Retrieved March 8 2011 Cagnassola Mary Ellen April 16 2021 Lindsey Graham blames Biden team for ISIS rise says Afghanistan troop pullout puts U S in danger Newsweek Retrieved April 17 2021 Robertson Nic June 24 2021 Afghanistan is disintegrating fast as Biden s troop withdrawal continues CNN Graham calls Biden s Afghanistan decision a disaster in the making The Hill July 8 2021 Wightman Ken November 7 2010 Lindsey Graham argues military action against Iran possible digitaljournal com Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved February 9 2020 Graham Iraq may go to hell without US troops CBS News April 3 2011 Retrieved September 10 2022 a b Esfandiari Golnaz October 18 2018 Iranian Americans Call Out U S Senator Graham For Terrible Ancestry Gaffe RadioFreeEurope RadioLiberty Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 a b Anapol Avery October 17 2018 Iranian American group calls on Graham to apologize for disgusting DNA remark The Hill Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 O Brien Sara Ashley October 17 2018 Tech execs want Senator Graham to apologize over Iranian remark CNN Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 Nazzaro Miranda October 9 2023 Graham US should threaten Iranian oil infrastructure The Hill Archived from the original on October 14 2023 Retrieved October 15 2023 US and Israel should bomb Iran Senator Lindsey Graham Middle East Monitor October 12 2023 Archived from the original on October 14 2023 Retrieved October 15 2023 Memmott Mark December 22 2010 Senate Ratifies START NPR Archived from the original on March 31 2015 Retrieved December 22 2010 Baker Peter December 22 2010 Senate Passes Arms Control Treaty With Russia 71 26 The New York Times Archived from the original on December 29 2016 Retrieved September 29 2020 Hunt Kasie O Donnell Kelly July 17 2013 Graham US should consider Olympic boycott over possible Snowden asylum NBC News Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 17 2013 Chappell Bill March 4 2022 Sen Lindsey Graham s apparent call for Putin to be assassinated draws backlash NPR Retrieved March 7 2022 Russia issues arrest warrant for Lindsey Graham over Ukraine comments AP News May 29 2023 Retrieved July 1 2023 Russia issues arrest warrant for Lindsey Graham over comments on war in Ukraine PBS NewsHour May 29 2023 Retrieved July 1 2023 Roulette Joey Faulconbridge Guy May 28 2023 Dismissing Russian criticism U S Senator Graham praises Ukrainian resistance Reuters Retrieved May 29 2023 Faulconbridge Guy May 29 2023 Russia puts U S Senator Graham on wanted list Russian media Reuters Retrieved May 29 2023 Russia issues arrest warrant for Lindsey Graham over Ukraine comments AP NEWS May 29 2023 Retrieved May 29 2023 Lindsey Graham Russia issues arrest warrant for top Republican BBC News May 29 2023 Retrieved May 29 2023 Serwer Adam August 22 2011 The right s bizarre response to Libya events The Washington Post Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 Edwards Breanna January 29 2013 Lindsey Graham Hillary Clinton got away with murder Politico Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 Sen Graham Benghazi Report is full of crap CNN November 23 2014 Archived from the original on November 26 2014 Retrieved November 23 2014 Klimas Jacqueline November 23 2014 Lindsey Graham House Benghazi report is full of crap The Washington Times Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved November 23 2014 Miller Jake November 23 2014 Lindsey Graham House Benghazi report full of crap CBS News Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved November 23 2014 Kheel Rebecca December 23 2016 Obama faces widespread backlash after abstaining from UN Israel vote The Hill Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved March 11 2019 Trump ally Graham says he ll lobby White House for Golan recognition Times of Israel March 11 2019 Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved March 11 2019 Sen Lindsey Graham to host roundtable discussion on Israel Hamas war WCIV October 12 2023 US right heats up inflammatory rhetoric on Palestine as Muslim groups worry The Guardian October 19 2023 Graham says no limit of Palestinian deaths would make him question Israel The Hill November 1 2023 Lindsey Graham says there is no limit to the number of civilians it s justifiable for Israel to kill in its war on Hamas Business Insider November 1 2023 Kleefeld Eric May 26 2019 Lindsey Graham proposes invading Venezuela to oust Maduro Vox Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved May 27 2019 Woodruff Betsy October 23 2017 Senators Stunned to Discover We Have 1 000 Troops in Niger The Daily Beast Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved October 27 2017 Bearak Max October 23 2017 Analysis Parts of Niger and Mali are already lawless U S strategy might make it worse The Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved October 27 2017 US Senators Graham and Shaheen visit flashpoint town Manbij Arab News July 2 2018 Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 Pecqet Julian March 27 2015 Saudi Arabia Gets Bipartisan Backing for Yemen Airstrikes U S News amp World Report Archived from the original on March 28 2015 US Saudi relations are imperiled by journalist Jamal Khashoggi s disappearance CNBC October 12 2018 Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 Carney Jordain June 20 2019 Senate votes to block Trump s Saudi arms sale The Hill Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 Media Calls Out Trump For Sending Troops to Saudi Arabia Mediaite October 11 2019 Retrieved June 1 2021 Lindsey Graham on Twitter A major step forward in normalizing the Mideast and replacing policies of the past with opportunities for the future I appreciate the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for making this important change It will not go unnoticed in Washington and throughout capitals around the world twitter com Archived from the original on September 2 2020 Retrieved June 6 2022 Haltiwanger John Lindsey Graham says Congress will call for Turkey to be suspended from NATO and hit it with sanctions if it attacks Kurds Business Insider Retrieved June 1 2021 Carney Jordain November 13 2019 Graham blocks resolution recognizing Armenian genocide after Erdogan meeting The Hill Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 Tsirkin Julie Gregorian Dareh December 12 2019 Senate passes resolution recognizing Armenian genocide NBC News Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b c Fandos Nicholas Rosenberg Matthew 2018 Republican Senators Recommend Charges Against Author of Trump Dossier The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on January 5 2018 Retrieved January 5 2018 Carney Jordain April 11 2018 Senators to introduce new bipartisan bill to protect Mueller The Hill Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved April 11 2018 Conradis Brandon March 14 2019 Graham blocks resolution calling for Mueller report to be made public The Hill Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved March 15 2019 Graham Mueller Report In Name Only Special Counsel Was In A Weakened State Fox News July 25 2019 Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved November 17 2020 Creitz Charles June 25 2019 Lindsey Graham Mueller s agreement to testify before Congress will blow up in Democrats faces Fox News Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 Karl J et al Top conservative says read my lips Don t sign no new tax pledge Spinners and Winners ABC News June 12 2012 Free Trade Free Markets Rating the Congress Cato Institute Retrieved September 7 2015 Free Trade Free Markets Rating the Congress Cato Institute Retrieved September 7 2015 Byrnes Jesse June 19 2015 Lindsey Graham defends Confederate flag It works here The Hill Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved June 21 2015 Castillo Walbert June 20 2015 Lindsey Graham on Charleston shooter It s him not the flag CNN Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved June 21 2015 Drucker David M June 20 2015 Lindsey Graham No doubt Charleston shooting was racially motivated Washington Examiner Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved June 21 2015 Folley Aris June 1 2023 Here are the senators who voted against the bill to raise the debt ceiling The Hill Archived from the original on June 18 2023 Retrieved June 17 2023 a b c d Kropf Schuyler Dumain Emma November 5 2016 PALMETTO POLITICS U S Sen Lindsey Graham named in Boston law firm donation expose The Post and Courier Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved September 18 2017 Stolberg Sheryl Gay November 21 2005 In the Senate a Chorus of Three Defies the Line The New York Times Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved June 6 2014 span clas, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.