South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham’s sudden death at 71 has shocked Washington. Once a fierce critic of then-candidate Donald Trump, he became one of the president’s most consistent defenders.
Transcript
AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
As questions continue about the health of one Republican senator, Washington woke up to the news of the death of another, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. He had just turned 71 last Thursday and was running for reelection. His office said only that he died last night of a, quote, “brief and sudden illness.” Graham had been a fixture in Washington since the 1990s. He was one of the House impeachment managers who tried President Bill Clinton in the Senate. He was a security hawk who was once a blistering critic of President Trump before becoming one of his most frequent defenders. NPR senior national political correspondent Mara Liasson is with us now. Good morning, Mara.
MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Good morning, Ayesha.
RASCOE: To say that this is unexpected is an understatement. Like, what’s been the reaction to Graham’s death?
LIASSON: The reaction has been shock. We’ve heard so many – from so many members of Congress. The Senate majority leader, John Thune, said, my heart is heavy this morning to learn the passing of my friend and colleague, Senator Lindsey Graham. Thune went on to say, Lindsey’s long and dedicated service in the Air Force and in Congress carried him to far-flung regions of the world. He was a strong advocate for the United States, a strong ally to freedom-loving countries across the globe. He believed in the might of America to achieve good in the world. He dedicated his life to advancing that cause.
President Donald Trump also posted, Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and senators I have ever known, is dead. He was always working. He was a true American patriot. So sad.
RASCOE: Lindsey Graham won the Republican primary last month in South Carolina. What does his death mean for his seat in Congress and for that race in November?
LIASSON: Well, it doesn’t change the partisan balance in Congress. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, who’s a Republican, can quickly fill the seat. But the Republican Party in South Carolina has to find a new nominee to run. This was a race Graham was favored to win. The Democratic opponent in that race is Dr. Annie Andrews, a pediatrician.
RASCOE: As I mentioned, in 2016, Graham was a fierce critic of Donald Trump. Here he is during that campaign.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
LINDSEY GRAHAM: He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. He doesn’t represent my party. He doesn’t represent the values that the men and women who wear the uniform are fighting for.
RASCOE: But then, just a month ago, after Graham won his primary, he said this, addressed to President Trump.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GRAHAM: You’re the gold standard in the Republican world, the most consequential endorsement, I think, in the history of politics. And when you spoke, the people of South Carolina listened. And, President Trump, I’m coming back to the Senate in ’27. I’m going to win in November, and I’m going to help you change this world and change this country.
RASCOE: How much influence has Graham had with Trump over the years?
LIASSON: Well, he had at sometimes a lot of influence, and at sometimes not very much. You just heard his transition from a fierce Trump critic to a fierce Trump loyalist. Like many Republicans, Lindsey Graham made that transition. But one of the things that he pushed President Trump on – sometimes with success, sometimes without – was to support Ukraine, to send Ukraine more military aid, to toughen the sanctions on Russia. Sometimes he was successful in that, and sometimes Donald Trump sounded like he was leaning towards Russian President Vladimir Putin’s position.
RASCOE: Mara, Congress is back in session tomorrow, and there are questions about the health of Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell. He’s been hospitalized since mid-June, and there just hasn’t been a lot of information about his condition. How does his absence and Graham’s death complicate business on Capitol Hill?
LIASSON: Well, it complicates it a lot. We don’t know much about McConnell’s health. Some senators say they have spoken to him, but we haven’t gotten any details about his condition. The Democratic governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear, has officially requested that McConnell’s office provide more information about his health.
But there’s a lot of work before the Senate. There’s the National Defense Authorization Act. It’s a must-pass piece of legislation. Any absence of a senator makes that job much, much harder ’cause there – the Senate majority – Republican majority is so slim there. They also have to pass an emergency supplemental funding request from the Pentagon to help fund the war in Iran. Those are big priorities on Capitol Hill.
And then there’s the countdown clock to the midterms that’s ticking down, and there are a lot of worries among Republicans that they just don’t have enough legislation to campaign on. They should have been able to tout the bipartisan housing bill, but President Trump took the air out of that balloon when he refused to hold a signing ceremony for the bill. He said he wouldn’t sign it in protest of the fact that the Senate wasn’t passing another bill that he wanted about elections. He’s been told several times by Republican senators that they don’t have the votes to pass that bill.
But the housing bill was something that voters wanted. Polls have shown that majorities of voters say that housing is a very important issue for them. It’s just too expensive to buy a home right now. And this was a bill that would have made it easier to build houses by reducing regulations about home building. And it passed with big bipartisan majorities, exactly what voters say they want Congress to do – work across the aisle, compromise. But Donald Trump decided that he didn’t want to let Congress bask in the glow of passing a popular bill.
RASCOE: Finally, the war in Iran. There were more strikes yesterday. We’ll have an update on that from NPR’s Carrie Kahn in just a moment. But also yesterday, President Trump and Iran’s new supreme leader were throwing around threatening words. Tell us more about that.
LIASSON: That’s right. Trump’s posted, quote, “1,000 missiles are locked and loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran.” He was responding to a threat from the Iranians that they wanted to kill him, to take revenge for the Israeli and U.S. strikes that killed the supreme leader of Iran and many members of his family. Iran has promised to avenge his death. And that doesn’t make it easier to get a peace deal here.
You know, Trump has declared the ceasefire over. Over the weekend, Iran struck a cargo ship or fired at a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says the strait is now closed until further notice, and they are defying the U.S. demand that Iran make a statement that promises safe passage through the strait.
RASCOE: That’s NPR’s national political correspondent, Mara Liasson. Thank you, Mara.
LIASSON: You’re welcome.
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