| |
Senate Returns to DC After Graham Death07/13 06:30
Senate Republicans will return to Washington on Monday with an uncertain
agenda after the sudden death of prominent Republican Lindsey Graham, a
committee chairman and key player who served as a crucial ally with President
Donald Trump.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Republicans will return to Washington on Monday
with an uncertain agenda after the sudden death of prominent Republican Lindsey
Graham, a committee chairman and key player who served as a crucial ally with
President Donald Trump.
Graham, 71, died Saturday evening after a tear in his aorta, according to a
statement from his office on Sunday. The shocking news came after another
prominent Republican senator, former Republican leader Mitch McConnell, has
been hospitalized for almost a month. McConnell broke a weekslong silence about
his health Sunday evening, saying that he was still recovering after suffering
from pneumonia and falling in his home.
The continued absence of McConnell, R-Ky., and the surprise death of the
South Carolina senator have shaken Republicans who were already at odds with
Trump and stalled on several priorities as they return from a two-week recess.
And the reduced Republican numbers in the 53-47 Senate are sure to add
confusion to what was already expected to be a chaotic and difficult few months
before the November midterm elections.
Despite consolidated power in Washington, Republicans have been unable to
get much done as the Senate, House and White House have disagreed on
legislative priorities and as Trump has criticized Senate Republicans, in
particular, for not passing his legislation to require proof of citizenship for
voters. Graham, who was one of Trump's closest friends in the Senate, often
served as a pivotal intermediary.
"He was a great -- like a gauge, a temperature gauge of the Senate," Trump
said of Graham on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday morning, noting he had
talked to Graham on Saturday. "He could go in and get something approved. He
would just get people on his side."
Republican priorities are stalled
The Senate left town two weeks ago after a rough few weeks for Republicans.
Trump blocked the Senate from confirming one of his own nominees, asked them to
fund parts of his White House ballroom project despite opposition and forced
them to defend the Iran war even as they questioned the strategy and endgame.
He also refused to sign a bipartisan, election-year housing bill that had
the support of large bipartisan majorities in both chambers, arguing that they
should pass his bill to require proof of citizenship, the SAVE America Act,
instead. The bill became law on Friday at midnight after he declined to sign it
but did not veto it.
The alliance between Trump and Senate Republicans has also been weakened
after the president endorsed the opponents of two Republican incumbent senators
who had been reliable votes, Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Louisiana Sen. Bill
Cassidy. Cassidy challenged Trump directly on the Iran war in a Capitol meeting
between Trump and Republicans just before they left town that did not go well.
Senate's agenda is uncertain
Republicans return to a number of important agenda items, including the
confirmation of Trump's pick for attorney general, Todd Blanche, and the
confirmation of Jay Clayton, who Trump selected to be director of national
intelligence and later temporarily blocked.
They also must find a way to navigate Democratic opposition and Trump's
continued ire to keep the government open and prevent a government shutdown,
again. Graham was a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, as is
McConnell.
Graham also sat on the Judiciary Committee that will consider Blanche's
nomination and is the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, which has been
under pressure from House Republicans and Trump to move a budget package with
increased defense spending for Iran.
There is also bipartisan legislation to move forward on a package of Russia
sanctions that Graham and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut had
announced on Friday after an agreement with the Trump administration.
Blumenthal told The Associated Press on Sunday that Graham was "absolutely
focused on this moment" as they announced the sanctions package after months of
negotiations. He said he hopes Graham's memory will inspire the Senate to move
forward.
"We've really reached this moment where all of the stars are aligned and we
will be lacking Lindsey's spectacular advocacy," Blumenthal said.
Graham's death came after a trip to Ukraine
Senate leaders have not yet announced how they will honor Graham, who died
after a tear in the inner wall of the aorta, called an aortic dissection,
related to hardening of Graham's arteries, according to his office. An official
cause of death will be disclosed after toxicological and microscopic testing,
his office said.
Graham, a prominent South Carolina Republican and former Air Force lawyer
who served in Congress for more than three decades, had just returned from a
trip to Ukraine.
A number of Republican names began circulating as possible replacements to
serve out the rest of Graham's term, including three candidates who fell short
for the party's nomination for governor this year -- Rep. Nancy Mace, Rep.
Ralph Norman and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette.
Also in the mix is Rep. Russell Fry, who was elected to the House in 2022.
McConnell not expected to return immediately
McConnell's Sunday announcement revealed for the first time that a fall led
to his hospitalization, breaking the silence about his condition after weeks of
mounting speculation about his health.
The Kentucky Republican, who is retiring in January, said in a statement
that he was "briefly unconscious" around the time he was first taken to the
hospital in June and has undergone a battery of tests to try and determine what
led to his fall. He said he was also treated for mild pneumonia and has been
moved to a rehabilitation facility.
"My doctors have confirmed that I didn't break any bones or suffer a
concussion. I didn't have a heart attack or a stroke. I don't have any tumors
or hemorrhages," McConnell said, adding that he is now "regaining my strength."
He said he cannot return to the Senate "quite yet."
McConnell explained the four-week silence about his condition by saying that
"folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes
with growing older."
"Even in the public eye, I feel that same instinct -- I can't help it," he
said.
|
|
