“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.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he supported a bill that would protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from any politically motivated firings and would urge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to allow a vote on it, Reuters reports.
“Sen. Lindsey Graham’s bipartisan overtures — on immigration, foreign policy, even investigations of President Trump — once made him a darling of Democrats, a Republican dealmaker to be wooed to the center,” the New York Times reports.
“But when the South Carolina Republican turned up in this St. Louis suburb to campaign against a Democratic colleague, Claire McCaskill, the crowd of Trump-loving women and red-hatted men practically swooned, bathing in the reflected glow of the president they adore — who now adores Lindsey Graham.”
“Mr. Graham, crisscrossing the country to turn out the Republican vote against the centrist Democratic senators who were once his natural allies, lapped it up. He has been basking in the exaltation of Trump backers ever since his lacerating defense of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. His own transformation from Trump-basher to Trump defender seems complete.”
CNN: “After streams of voters lined up to take selfies with Graham last week, the detractor-turned-Trump-defender was asked: Is there any room for a Trump critic in today’s Republican Party?
Said Graham: “I don’t think there’s any room in the party for wanting him to fail. If they see your criticism is designed to want him to fail or not support him, then you’re in trouble.”
Graham quickly added: “Most people in that room want me to stay close to the President.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that he will introduce legislation to end birthright citizenship after President Trump suggested he could do so through an executive order, The Hill reports.
Said Graham: “Finally, a president willing to take on this absurd policy of birthright citizenship. I’ve always supported comprehensive immigration reform – and at the same time – the elimination of birthright citizenship.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that it would be, “like, terrible” if a DNA test found that he had Iranian heritage, the Washington Post reports.
The Fox & Friends host tried to walk back the comment just after Graham made it.
“I’ve been told that my grandmother was part Cherokee Indian, it may all be just talk, but you’re gonna find out in a couple of weeks because I’m gonna take this test.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by The Hill, saying he can “beat” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in terms of his amount of Cherokee heritage.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told WYFF that he has “zero interest” in joining President Trump’s cabinet.
Said Graham: “I like him, and I want to help him. I want him to be successful. But I feel I can do more good for the country and help President Trump more effectively by being in the Senate. I’ll help him where I can and say no when I have to.”
He added: “I’m going to run again. There you go, you made news. I’m definitely running.”
“I’ve never been more pissed in my life. I’ve never campaigned against a colleague in my life. That’s about to change.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by the Washington Post, after the contentious confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Frank Bruni: “But Graham is special. He really is. I can’t think of another Republican whose journey from anti-Trump outrage to pro-Trump obsequiousness was quite so illogical or half as sad, and his conduct during the war over Kavanaugh completed it. For the president he fought overtime, he fought nasty and he fought without nuance.”
”In so doing, he distilled our rotten politics — its transactional nature, its tribal fury, its hysterical pitch — as neatly as anybody in the current Congress does.”
“I’m glad he picked him. I swear to God, there was a time I thought he would pick Judge Judy.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by the Washington Post, praising President Trump’s pick of Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court.
“You’ve humiliated this guy enough and there seems to be no bottom for some of you. Why don’t we dunk him in water and see if he floats?”
—Sen. Lindsey Graham, quoted by The Hill, responding to a protester saying Brett Kavanaugh should take a polygraph test.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he has no plans to personally read the FBI report on Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh, but he’s confident the supplemental background check found no evidence to corroborate allegations of sexual misconduct, McClatchy reports.
Said Graham: “I asked questions. I knew exactly what I was looking for …. the summaries suggest nothing new.”
He added: “I am good to go. Enough already. Let’s vote.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Fox News that Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) should apologize to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Graham noted that Kavanaugh apologized during last Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for “snapping” at Klobuchar after she asked him if he had ever “blacked out” from drinking.
Said Graham: “Here’s what I think. Amy Klobuchar should apologize to Kavanaugh and his family for being part of a smear campaign that I haven’t seen for over 20 years of politics.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) “has a Plan B if the Senate fails to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh: Let’s run this back and take it to voters in the midterms,” Roll Call reports.
Said Graham: “What would I do? I would re-nominate him and I would take this case to the American people and I’d ask voters in Indiana, in Missouri, in North Dakota and other places where Trump won — saying who he would nominate if he got to be president — and see if the voters want to appeal the verdict of their senator.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) “erupted in anger during his turn to question Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday, marking a pivotal turn away from the GOP’s previously measured attempt to rely on outside counsel for questioning the high court nominee,” Politico reports.
“It was a stunning moment, but one that had been coming for days for anyone watching the 63-year-old senator closely.”
“A furious Graham accused Senate Democrats of ‘the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics’ — an effort to ruin Kavanaugh’s reputation and sink his nomination for the Supreme Court.”
Said Graham: “What you want to do is destroy this guy’s life, hold this seat open, and hope you win in 2020.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he believes “a bureaucratic coup” led by enemies of President Trump is taking place at the Justice Department, and the senator asked that a new special counsel be appointed to investigate, the Washington Post reports.
Said Graham: “Before the election, the people in question tried to taint the election, tip it to Clinton’s favor; after the election, they’re trying to undermine the president.”
“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.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs 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.
"There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them."
-- Chuck Todd, host of "Meet the Press"
"Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all."
-- Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
"Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
-- Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
"The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom -- nicely packaged, constantly updated... What political junkie could ask for more?"
-- Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.