“All I can say is that we’re bringing this to a close. They’ve had tons of time to do this. This has been a drive-by shooting when it comes to Kavanaugh. I’ll listen to the lady, but we’re going to bring this to a close.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by the Washington Post, on the sexual assault allegations made against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Fox News that he wants to know who paid for a polygraph test taken by the woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault.
Said Graham: “Here’s what I want your audience to know: If Ms. Ford really did not want to come forward, never intended to come forward, never planned to come forward, why did she pay for a polygraph in August and why did she hire a lawyer in August if she never intended to do what she is doing? And who paid for it?”
Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) “unexplained optimism, his eager attempts to soften Trump’s rough edges, have confused colleagues and caused double-takes across Washington,” the AP reports.
“The South Carolina Republican was McCain’s best friend in the Senate, a self-described student of his politics and personal integrity. But he has deviated dramatically in his approach to the tempestuous and divisive president. While others stayed their distance — McCain perhaps most of all — Graham has gone all in, transforming himself into liaison, translator and, critics say, enabler of the president.”
“Graham has his own political motivations. His pivot comes as he is gearing up for his own re-election in 2020. The senator is popular in his deeply conservative state, but opposition to the president could mean risking a primary challenge.”
“You had a chance, and you lost. If you want to pick judges from your way of thinking, then you better win an election.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by the Washington Post, chastising Democrats for raising objections at Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing.
“He said help him where you can, just don’t get sucked into all of his bullshit.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by The Hill, talking about advice the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) gave him for working with President Trump.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that if President Trump replaces Attorney General Jeff Sessions, “his new nominee would have to promise the Senate that he would allow special counsel Robert Mueller to complete his investigation,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Graham: “You have to replace him with somebody who is highly qualified and will commit to the Senate to allow Mueller to do his job. Nobody is going to take Jeff’s place that doesn’t commit to the Senate and the country as a whole that Mueller will be allowed to finish his job without political interference.”
Graham raised eyebrows last week when he seemed to give Trump his blessing to fire Sessions, telling reporters that the president was “entitled to an attorney general he has faith in.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said it’s “very likely” President Trump will replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions but warned against doing so before the midterm elections, Bloomberg reports.
Said Graham: “The president’s entitled to an attorney general he has faith in, somebody that’s qualified for the job, and I think there will come a time, sooner rather than later, where it will be time to have a new face and a fresh voice at the Department of Justice. Clearly, Attorney General Sessions doesn’t have the confidence of the president.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that he has told President Trump that ending the special counsel investigation of Robert Mueller would undermine GOP chances in November, Roll Call reports.
Said Graham, who played golf with Trump over the weekend: “He must have mentioned that about 20 times.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham warned President Trump not to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, Reuters reports.
Said Graham: “The only reason Mr. Mueller could ever be dismissed is for cause. I see no cause when it comes to Mr. Mueller. I pledge to the American people as a Republican, to ensure that Mr. Mueller can continue to do his job without any interference.”
He added: “As I have said before, if he tried to do that, that would be the beginning of the end of his presidency, because we’re a rule of law nation.”
Sen. Linsdey Graham (R-SC) declined to directly confirm President Trump’s “shithole countries” comment last week but told the Charleston Post and Courier, “My memory hasn’t evolved. I know what was said and I know what I said.”
Graham privately told Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) that Trump made the comments.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) told the Charleston Post and Courier that he talked to fellow Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) about hearing President Trump’s “shithole countries” comment and Graham confirmed to him the president said it.
Graham’s office has not returned messages inquiring about Trump’s comments that reportedly were uttered in the Oval Office during a bi-partisan meeting on immigration reform.
“I don’t think he’s crazy.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), talking about President Trump on Meet the Press.
“Lindsey used to be a great enemy of mine, now he’s a great friend of mine.”
— President Trump, quoted by CNN, about Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told The Atlantic that there’s a 30% chance that President Trump initiates war against North Korea.
Said Graham: “I would say there’s a three in 10 chance we use the military option.”
He added that if the North Koreans conduct an additional test of a nuclear bomb — “I would say 70 percent.”
More from Graham: “War with North Korea is an all-out war against the regime. There is no surgical strike option. Their [nuclear-weapons] program is too redundant, it’s too hardened, and you gotta assume the worst, not the best. So if you ever use the military option, it’s not to just neutralize their nuclear facilities—you gotta be willing to take the regime completely down.”
New York Times: “Three times in a single day last week, Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) cellphone rang. The first time, President Trump called about the health care fight in Congress. The second time, the president thanked the senator for defending his honor on television. Then Mr. Trump rang seeking more intelligence on health care.”
“Mr. Graham — Republican of South Carolina and a one-time target of the president’s barbs on Twitter — has transformed himself into the Senate’s Trump whisperer, shrugging off the White House chaos, personal insults and deep ideological differences in exchange for Mr. Trump’s ear.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told CBS News that if the Republican party cannot enact tax reform, just one item on the congressional agenda, “we’re dead.”
Said Graham: “If we don’t cut taxes and we don’t eventually repeal and replace Obamacare, then we’re going to lose across the board in the House in 2018. And all of my colleagues running in primaries in 2018 will probably get beat.”
He added: “It will be the end of Mitch McConnell as we know it.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Wonk Wire, Political Job Hunt and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
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