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\n

Lindsey Graham\u2019s death is poised to upend the Senate, where the GOP majority was already tight and the four-term South Carolina Republican loomed large in several immediate policy fights ahead of the midterms \u2014 putting the fate of multiple legislative priorities into question.<\/p>\n

Graham \u2014 who died of a \u201cbrief a sudden illness\u201d<\/u><\/a> Saturday, according to his office \u2014 chaired the Budget Committee, which has been facing pressure from President Donald Trump to advance a new party-line spending package including a major boost in defense funding. He was also a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, which has been working to land a deal to avert a government shutdown at the end of September.<\/p>\n

Graham was a member of the Judiciary Committee, which is set this week to hold confirmation hearings for acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to lead the Justice Department permanently. GOP leaders had been counting on Graham to help rally support for the nominee in committee and on the floor with a handful of fellow Republicans at risk of withholding their votes.<\/p>\n

And he was leading efforts to slap sanctions on Russia for its ongoing aggression against Ukraine \u2014 a crusade that may now have lost a second Republican champion on Capitol Hill after the hospitalization of Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.<\/p>\n

Senate Republican leaders will need to immediately begin to account for Graham\u2019s absence as they plot out their next three weeks in Washington before leaving for summer recess \u2014 and as they seek to deliver on campaign promises as the November elections loom.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a trusted adviser and colleague to me and many others, and numerous presidents and heads of state have relied on his counsel,\u201d Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in a statement Sunday morning. \u201cHis influence on the federal judiciary, our national defense, and his beloved South Carolina will be felt for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham\u2019s death brings Senate Republicans’ already narrow majority to 52-47 \u2014 and functionally even narrower as McConnell continues to be missing for undisclosed medical reasons. Under South Carolina law, the Republican governor can appoint a temporary successor, though that person would not necessarily inherit his same committee assignments nor share Graham\u2019s vast expertise in defense, foreign affairs and judicial matters.<\/p>\n

Graham chaired the Appropriations subcommittee overseeing funding for the State Department, and his successor in that role will be facing a tight timeline ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline to avert a funding lapse \u2014 and fresh pressures to keep cash flowing to key diplomatic activities amid the ongoing war against Iran.<\/p>\n

Nearly all Senate appropriators hold a subcommittee gavel, so decisions about who will take over from Graham will be dependent on whether the most senior members want to shuffle among themselves or let a rank-and-file Appropriations Republican step up into a leadership role.<\/p>\n

Graham and McConnell have together led a consistent drumbeat within a changing Republican party for continued engagement by the U.S. on the international stage and with key alliances \u2014 along with advocacy for more defense spending. Graham’s death will strike a blow to the “peace through strength” part of the GOP as President Donald Trump shows little interest in traditional alliances and continues his criticism of NATO. Graham was a key voice against a growing isolationist stance within his party and cheerled the war against Iran.<\/p>\n

The Senate is scheduled to take up the annual defense authorization measure this week, a major leadership goal of the July legislative sprint ahead of the upcoming extended recess and around which Graham was set to play a key role during floor debate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no words to describe his impact on the foreign and domestic policy of the United States,\u201d Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said on social media Sunday, adding that \u201che stood solidly for freedom and strength and he fought for liberty across the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The most immediate source of anxiety for leadership could be what effect Graham\u2019s absence could have for Blanche, who is scheduled to testify Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee with hopes of being confirmed by the first week of August.<\/p>\n

The nominee has faced blowback from members of both parties over Blanche\u2019s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and, most recently, his oscillation over the fate of a $180 billion \u201cAnti-Weaponization Fund\u201d critics feared would be used to pay damages to President Donald Trump\u2019s supporters.<\/p>\n

Outgoing Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), who sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, haven\u2019t committed to voting for him. Another retiring Senate Republican, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, and GOP moderate Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are also among those who would waver on Blanche if and when his nomination comes to the floor. Graham was a reliable \u201cyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

GOP leaders will also need to install a new chair of the Budget Committee as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Congress to move another party-line package with a $350 billion infusion for the military, along with other conservative priorities.<\/p>\n

Graham was set to take the lead on a Senate effort, recently meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to discuss using the filibuster-skirting reconciliation bill to bolster the Pentagon amid the ongoing conflict with Iran. He was a major cheerleader for both efforts as a staunch Trump ally and an avowed defense hawk, and his death is a setback for the broader reconciliation push that was already facing steep odds given a truncated window for action and lack of agreement about what provisions should go into the legislation.<\/p>\n

The next chair of the Senate Budget Committee will be selected largely by seniority, though the next two Republicans in line after Graham \u2014 Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Mike Crapo of Idaho \u2014 already chair the Judiciary and Finance panels, respectively. The next two Republicans in line after that are Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who currently chairs the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Roger Marshall of Kansas.<\/p>\n

Efforts to impose economic sanctions on Russia are also now up in the air following Graham\u2019s death. He had just returned to his Washington residence from Ukraine, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and announced there was an agreement with the White House for the Senate to finally move forward on a package allowing Trump to sanction countries that buy Russian oil and gas.<\/p>\n

There was hope heading into the weekend that the deal, which would punish buyers of Russian oil, would yield fresh pressure on Moscow<\/u><\/a>. Graham\u2019s allies in the push \u2014 including Wicker and Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut \u2014 could rally to pass the package in Graham\u2019s memory.<\/p>\n

But the effort also may fall into limbo with its chief cheerleader on Capitol Hill gone and close second, McConnell, also absent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lindsey Graham\u2019s death is poised to upend the Senate, where the GOP majority was already tight and the four-term South Carolina Republican loomed large in several immediate policy fights ahead of the midterms \u2014 putting the fate of multiple legislative priorities into question. Graham \u2014 who died of a \u201cbrief a sudden illness\u201d Saturday, according […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-congress"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25711\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}