Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Fox News last night that President Trump should bomb Iran if the country does more to disrupt shipping activity.
Said Graham: “He should put the oil refineries on the target list and look at sinking the Iranian Navy if they attack shipping again. My red line is: If there’s any more disruption of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz linked to Iran, take out their Navy and bomb their refineries.”
Calls for Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to resign began trending on Twitter Tuesday morning after the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman encouraged Donald Trump Jr. to plead the Fifth,” The Hill reports.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) suggested Donald Trump Jr. ignore a subpoena from his Republican colleague in the Senate and “call it a day.”
Said Graham: “If I were Donald Trump Jr.’s lawyer, I would tell him, you don’t need to go back into this environment anymore. You’ve been there for hours and hours and nothing being alleged here changes the outcome of the Mueller investigation.”
“Cindy completely understands that my job as a senator from South Carolina, where Trump is popular, is to represent my state’s interest but also to be a voice for the things that matter to her, me, Senator McCain and the country.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by the Washington Post, on how Cindy McCain views his support of President Trump.
“I would love him regardless of what he did. He’s part of our family. That’s doesn’t affect our friendship at all.”
— Cindy McCain, in an interview with the Washington Post, on her relationship with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and his support of President Trump.
Sen. Lindsay Graham, a close ally of Donald Trump, called for more sanctions on Russia and criticized presidential adviser Jared Kushner’s statements downplaying the significance of that country’s interference in the 2016 election, Bloomberg reports.
Said Graham: “I like Jared a lot, but he’s leaving out a big detail. Can you imagine what we would be saying if the Russians or the Iranians hacked into the presidential team of the Republican Party?”
“I’m all good, I’m done with the Mueller report. We will have Barr come in and tell us about what he found. I made sure that Mueller was able to do his job without interference. The Mueller report is over for me. Done.”
— Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, in an interview with CNN.
“He doesn’t have to say ‘let’s obstruct justice’ for it to be a crime.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham, quoted by Now This in 1999, on impeaching President Bill Clinton.
“If the report indicates no collusion found by Mueller, done, over, for me.”
— Graham, in 2019, after the release of the Mueller report.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) “delivered a rousing speech behind closed doors at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night, joking about the prospect of President Donald Trump opening a hotel in Jerusalem and asking the crowd whether they’d like to see former Rep. Trey Gowdy on the Supreme Court,” Politico reports.
“With Trump looking on, Graham lavished the president with praise, ticking off a list of his accomplishments, including the booming economy, the elimination of Islamic State strongholds in Syria and Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.”
A new Winthrop poll in South Carolina finds Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) stature has “steadily risen” among state Republicans since becoming a close and vocal ally of President Trump.
Graham’s 74% approval rating among Republicans is up 23 points from April 2018 and is now even with Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).
“If you don’t want to get re-elected, you’re in the wrong business.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by the New York Times, explaining how he went from Trump skeptic to Trump sidekick.
Susan Glasser: “When the commander of U.S. forces in Europe, General Curtis Scaparrotti, met privately with members of Congress at the Munich Security Conference, last weekend, Senator Lindsey Graham finished the meeting with a blunt question. Graham asked Scaparrotti what impact President Trump’s order to withdraw all U.S. forces from Syria by April would have on America’s allies there.”
“A participant in the meeting told me, ‘Lindsey asked him, “Is it fair to say if this is carried out to the end, we will not have any allies? Would it be fair to say it would lead to a disaster?”’
“The answer was equally blunt: ‘Yes, sir.’”
“After I expressed surprise at the stark reply from a uniformed commander, the participant reminded me that military officials are obliged to advise members of Congress appropriately, under a provision in the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) warned that there could be a “war” among Republicans if President Trump declared a national emergency to build the U.S.-Mexico border wall, The Hill reports.
Said Graham: “It seems to me that he’s gonna have to go it alone, but there could be a war within the Republican Party over the wall.”
That said, Graham added that he would “stand with” Trump if he declares a national emergency to construct the U.S.-Mexico border wall and urged his Republican colleagues to “get behind the president” if he goes down that path.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) suggested that President Trump reopen the federal government “for a short period of time” to see if Congress can reach a deal to fund a border wall, cautioning that Trump is “not going to give in” on his demands for a border wall, Axios reports.
President Trump’s attorney general nominee, William Barr, told Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that he will allow special counsel Robert Mueller to finish the investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election, Reuters reports.
Said Graham: “I can assure you he has a very high opinion of Mr. Mueller and he is committed to letting Mr. Mueller finish his job.”
“There’s not a smoking gun, there’s a smoking saw.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham(R-SC), quoted by The Hill after a CIA briefing, referencing Trump administration comments that there is no “smoking gun” linking the Saudi Crown Prince to the order to kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he “would start voting against priority items for completing the Senate’s work if he is not properly briefed by the CIA about the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” Roll Call reports.
Said Graham: “I’m talking about any key vote. Anything that you need me for to get out of town, I ain’t doing it until we hear from the CIA.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) plans to trade his Senate Judiciary Committee gavel to lead the Finance Committee next year, he said on Friday — leaving Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in line to replace him as chairman, Politico reports.
“Grassley’s move to Finance wasn’t a given, since the Judiciary panel has played an outsized role in the successful confirmation of more than 80 of President Trump’s nominees to lifetime appointments on the federal bench. That number could include future Supreme Court justices beyond Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh in the next Congress, heightening the influence of the Judiciary chairman.”
McClatchy: “Graham is poised to become the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in the next Congress, giving him both influence and exposure — and a new, politically risky stature as a Democratic target.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map 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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