Congress

Darline Graham’s challenge: Carry her brother’s legacy while charting her own

Published

2 hours ago

July 22, 2026

Darline Graham was appointed to her late brother’s Senate seat to carry on his legacy — but Republicans don’t expect her to follow his exact same trajectory.

In the handful of statements, interviews and news conferences since Lindsey Graham’s sudden death on July 11, Darline Graham has emphasized that while the two siblings were shaped by the same shared history, she will bring her own style and interests to the Senate.

Her lack of political experience and public exposure, however, has left few clues for deciphering how she’ll approach her new job. It’s relevant now as the younger Graham has quickly shown she’s not just a caretaker finishing out the last few months of her brother’s term, but also a politician launching a campaign for a full six-year stint.

That means she’ll have to thread a tricky political needle as she works to honor Lindsey Graham’s memory by trying to get some of his biggest pet projects passed — while also moving swiftly to build her profile as she competes in a crowded Republican primary this August with President Donald Trump’s blessing.

“Darline Graham is going to be an outstanding continuation of Lindsey Graham’s work for South Carolina, plus more,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso told reporters. “She has a very good finger on the pulse of what the people of South Carolina care about.”

Barrasso pointed to her work in “human needs” — a nod to her previous leadership of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind. That’s a different focus than that of her brother, a one-time Air Force military judge who was known for his work in national security, defense and foreign policy.

But the Wyoming Republican, when pressed for details about where he thought the two Grahams might split or overlap, acknowledged that “I haven’t had a discussion on each of the policy issues with her.”

That sentiment was echoed by three other Senate Republicans who conceded they don’t know yet what she stands for or what issues she’ll champion.

According to these senators, granted anonymity to speak freely, Graham did not give remarks during Tuesday’s closed-door lunch when her committee assignments were announced — though they said they understood that their new colleague might be most focused for the time being on honoring her late brother ahead of the memorials scheduled for next week.

Darline Graham entered the Senate with no apparent previous political experience; Lindsey Graham, by comparison, was well known in Washington and on the international stage after spending more than three decades in Congress, first in the House and then in the Senate.

“I don’t think anybody really knows who she is quite yet,” said Jeff Davis, chair of the Greenville County Republican Party.

“But she is her own person and different than Lindsey Graham,” Davis said. “So from our perspective, we’re certainly willing to give her the opportunity and chance, you know, to prove herself to us.”

Since joining the Senate last week following Gov. Henry McMaster’s appointment, Darline Graham has taken several votes on the Senate floor, each in line with the GOP. That includes helping to confirm Kara Westercamp, a nominee for a seat on the U.S. Court of International Trade, who has had to apologize for making critical comments of her late brother and other Republicans in the past.

Graham is inheriting her brother’s congressional staff, helping ease her transition into the Senate but also providing her a similar kitchen cabinet of trusted experts and advisers to guide her. Incidentally, she’s also inheriting all of Lindsey Graham’s committee seats on Judiciary, Appropriations, Budget and Environment and Public Works.

“As a committed conservative with fierce determination, I will use my position on these panels to secure resources for South Carolina, advance President Trump’s judicial nominees and ensure federal dollars are spent responsibly,” Graham said in a statement Tuesday.

Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), who heads an internal panel responsible for deciding committee seats, said in an interview that giving Graham her late brother’s seats “wasn’t automatic,” but that the decision was made after internal deliberations.

“It was just determined that that was the best procedure to move forward because we’re so close to the end of the session,” Crapo said.

While Republicans don’t expect her to be able to fill Lindsey Graham’s shoes on foreign affairs, an area where he had years of experience and a deep bench of personal relationships, she is quickly grabbing the mantle of one of his biggest priorities: trying to pass a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill through the Senate.

Lindsey Graham announced a framework for a sanctions package shortly before his death; Darline Graham made the proposal, which is now named in her brother’s honor, the first formal bill she introduced.

She is working behind the scenes to try to help build support and get the bill through the Senate, something she discussed with Senate Majority Leader John Thune on the floor Monday night. She also told Trump during their White House meeting last week that she wanted to get the measure passed in Lindsey Graham’s honor.

“She obviously carries on Lindsey’s legacy,” Thune, who hasn’t endorsed in the Senate race, told reporters this week. “But I think she’s a very accomplished person in her own right.”

Some Republicans, however, believe she also wants an additional statement of support from Trump for the sanctions bill before it moves in the Senate, according to two people granted anonymity to speak candidly — after the president added a curveball into negotiations by posting on Truth Social he wanted Iran sanctions added to the package, too.

“I think that the question has to do with adding Iran and how that’s done,” Thune said in an interview when asked about Darline Graham’s approach on the Russia sanctions bill. “But I think to her credit, Sen. Graham … wants to make sure that the White House is behind whatever that approach is.”

A spokesperson said that Graham “did not say nor did she imply” that she wanted an additional statement of support from Trump, adding that “she is extremely pleased with President Trump’s support for the legislation and is working closely with him to move it forward.”

Graham also announced Tuesday that the first existing bill she is co-sponsoring is the SAVE America Act, the GOP’s election overhaul bill that is the president’s top priority and components of which her late brother, just before his death, was working to incorporate into the party’s third budget reconciliation bill.

Even as Graham is aiming to finish some of her brother’s work, she’s also indicating that she will focus, for the most part, more on domestic policy than foreign policy.

Graham’s office did not make her available for an interview, but she told Fox News’ Sean Hannity during her first TV appearance since joining the Senate that she often questioned her brother on why he would use his frequent media hits to primarily discuss national security issues.

“I understand that’s important. Protecting our borders, national security, absolutely,” Graham said. “I said, ‘But talk about also what matters to the average person. The price of groceries, the price of gas, health care. Insurance, those kind of things.’ That’s what I’m worried about.”

Republicans also view Darline Graham as a more introverted personality not as inclined to seek out the spotlight — especially in comparison to her deeply extroverted brother, who gabbed with reporters around the Capitol and relished his unofficial role as a backchannel between Senate Republicans and Trump, serving as an adviser to the latter.

Graham tipped her hand toward the likely differences, saying in an open letter to constituents Saturday that “I am not Lindsey. I have my own way of doing things.”

“But we were raised with the same values,” she said, adding that she’s “spent my career helping South Carolinians with disabilities find employment and live independently.”

Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) told POLITICO last week that Darline Graham “understood what drove Lindsey. … It’s in her blood. It’s in her DNA.” But Britt deferred to the newest senator when asked Tuesday how she might be different.

“You know, I’m sure, like all of us, we love and respect our family,” Britt said. “[But] we’re our own people, so you’re going to have to ask her those questions.”

Samuel Benson contributed to this report.

Congress

House passes stopgap funding bill, months before shutdown deadline

Published

8 hours ago

July 22, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The House passed a government funding bill Tuesday night that would extend funding for all federal operations through the midterm elections — a move made months ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline to avoid a shutdown.

The 220-205 vote was largely along party lines, with Speaker Mike Johnson managing to keep his extremely narrow majority mostly together to advance legislation that would fund the government through Dec. 4.

Top House Republicans hope moving the funding measure so early in the process will put Democrats on defense in the impending government spending fight, before voters head to the polls this fall. Republicans plan to highlight Democrats’ votes against federal funding in the midterm campaigns.

The bill also does not include unrelated policy provisions, a key selling point for GOP leaders who argue there’s no reason Democrats should oppose a “clean” product. The measure does include traditional payments to the families of lawmakers who have died while serving in Congress, including late-Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and late-Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.), which is not politically controversial.

“They’re happy to play shutdown politics. We’re not,” House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole of Oklahoma said Tuesday, contrasting his Republican Party with the Democrats. “We think it’s a mistake, and so we’re moving on it early, expeditiously, and trying to create some momentum where we’re not waiting to the last minute.”

But Democrats are irate that Republicans plowed ahead with a bill that had no input from their side of the aisle. The funding patch also lacks language to ensure new dollars don’t go to Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement after Republicans already enacted $70 billion for those agencies along party lines this year.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democratic appropriator in the House, said Democrats have drawn “a clear line in the sand” against “giving the Trump administration permission to use billions provided by this bill to fund Border Patrol without any substantial reforms to how that agency operates.”

Democrats have for months been demanding overhauls to how federal immigration enforcement officers operate in the field — a stance that led Republicans forging ahead with a party-line reconciliation bill in June that will fund ICE and Border Patrol activities until the end of the Trump administration.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York expressed strong opposition to the GOP stopgap in a closed-door caucus meeting ahead of the vote, and other key senior House Democrats urged their colleagues to oppose the spending measure.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where top appropriators are already discussing a different government funding approach: moving a stopgap with “anomalies” to prevent disruptions to key services that would otherwise result from flat funding.

The White House sent a list of these special exceptions Monday, but they are not included in the House’s measure.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Tuesday laid out his plans to put a short-term stopgap funding bill on the chamber floor before the August recess incorporating anomalies — while also threatening to pursue another party-line bill to fund the whole government if Democrats don’t get on board with a compromise.

“I hope that’s not necessary,” Thune said.

Jordain Carney and Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.

Congress

GOP border bill clears hurdle despite Democratic push to add guardrails on ICE and DHS

Published

10 hours ago

July 22, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee blocked efforts from Democrats to add immigration enforcement guardrails to a marquee border bill, as the Department of Homeland Security faces new scrutiny after immigration officers shot and killed two people this month.

Fifteen Republicans and Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, an independent who continues to caucus with Republicans, voted to advance the Permanent Trump Secure Border Act, a sweeping immigration bill championed by some of the most conservative members of the House Republican conference.

Republicans hailed the bill — a similar version of which advanced in the House in 2023 but failed to clear the Democratic-controlled Senate — as a way to achieve lasting border security beyond the lifespan of this presidential administration.

“We must ensure that border security is not a byproduct of whoever is elected to the presidency,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), the main sponsor of the legislation.

All Democrats present voted against advancing the legislation, arguing the bill would codify what they described in the debate as “cruel” policies from the Trump administration. And their efforts to modify controversial provisions were roundly defeated by Republicans.

Among the proposed amendments were ones mandating that immigration officers use body cameras when they apprehend unauthorized immigrants, requiring the government provide parole status to the parents of active duty military personnel, reservists and veterans and ensuring that the government provide legal counsel to children who came to the United States by themselves. None of them made it into the final bill.

“What we’re trying to say through these amendments to try to fix this sloppy seconds bill is have some oversight,” Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) said during the debate. “You should be demanding oversight over your dollars misused to create inhumane conditions.”

One of the most notable amendments was one that would have required immigration officers to use body cameras in the field. The amendment, presented by Judiciary Committee ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), would have also banned officers from wearing masks.

Calls for the use of body cameras have grown after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers shot and killed two people in Texas and Maine earlier in July. In both shootings, officers were not wearing cameras, despite a pledge in February 2026 from then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that immigration officers would receive them.

During the proceedings, Republicans rejected a first version of the amendment on the grounds it was not “germane” to the debate, prompting Raskin to immediately offer what he argued was a more narrow version. They then argued the second one was not needed because there is already widespread support for body cameras and that the masking provision risked doxxing immigration officers.

Democrats, meanwhile, argued — unsuccessfully — that ICE officers should have to follow the same standards as state and local law enforcement agencies.

Still, even as Republicans notch a temporary win, the bill advancing could be a pyrrhic victory. Even though the legislation is a cause celebre for some more hardline members of the Republican conference, the bill, which would impose strict guidelines for asylum and entry to the United States and impose widespread verification requirements on U.S. companies, is seen as too aggressive by some moderate Republicans in Congress, making its passage through the full House difficult.

And the legislation would almost assuredly fail to achieve the needed 60 votes in the Senate to reach the president’s desk.

Congress

Cornyn threatens to block Trump’s ambassadors over AIDS prevention funding

Published

13 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is threatening to sink the ambassador nominations of two high-profile allies of President Donald Trump unless the White House commits to distributing AIDS funding in Africa.

A spokesperson for Cornyn, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Blue Light News on Tuesday that he wouldn’t vote to advance Kari Lake or Doug Mastriano, Trump’s picks for ambassador to Jamaica and Slovakia, respectively, unless he receives firm reassurance that the administration will release funds set aside for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the HIV and AIDS program credited with saving millions of lives in poor countries.

Both nominations are expected to face a vote in the committee on Wednesday. But without assurance on PEPFAR funding from the Trump administration, Cornyn could singlehandedly block the two nominations if they otherwise receive party-line backing, as Republicans hold 12 seats on the committee to Democrats’ 10.

It’s the second time in less than a week that the four-term senator has bucked the White House in the wake of his Senate primary loss to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in May. Cornyn suffered a lopsided defeat that came after the president endorsed Paxton — to the chagrin of Senate GOP leadership.

He also clashed with Todd Blanche, Trump’s pick for attorney general, over the White House “anti-weaponization” fund during a senate confirmation hearing last week.

Asked about leveraging his vote in recent weeks to move the White House towards his preferred policies, Cornyn told Blue Light News, “It’s kind of fun.”

Semafor was the first to report Cornyn’s ultimatum on the nominees. The White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lake and Mastriano both lost races for governor in 2022, in Arizona and Pennsylvania, respectively. They both took down more moderate Republicans in their respective primaries and earned the president’s favor by embracing his rhetoric regarding the 2020 election.

Lake subsequently ran for Senate in 2024, losing to Sen. Ruben Gallego even though Trump won Arizona that year by more than five points.

Cornyn is the latest Republican whose career Trump has effectively ended who’s since decided to turn the screws on the White House in recent months.

Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) — both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee — have been in talks with the White House over what it would take for them to support advancing Blanche’s attorney general nomination to a full floor vote.

And Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who lost his Republican primary to Trump-endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow in June, will play a major role in deciding the fate of Erica Schwartz, the administration’s nominee for director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The two shared a tense exchange during her confirmation hearing last week.

Since Trump returned to office, Republicans have consistently pushed for cuts to the AIDS-prevention program created during the George W. Bush administration. The State Department cut over 100 contracts grants from PEPFAR last year as part of the efforts to curb government spending led by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, drawing criticism from Democratic lawmakers and even some Republican senators, who blocked $400 million allocated for PEPFAR from being clawed back in the White House’s $9 billion rescission package last year.

Last month, the State Department decided to begin winding down PEPFAR programming in South Africa to comply with Trump’s executive order directing U.S. agencies to stop the funding unless the African country took steps to prevent discrimination against its white Afrikaner minority.

Chris Marquette contributed to this report.