Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sudden death this weekend at age 71 has shocked official Washington and, combined with the prolonged absence of fellow Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell due to health problems, could scramble some Republican legislative priorities, adding to what was already expected to be a difficult stretch leading up to the November elections.
Graham leaves a complicated legacy, marked by a famously hawkish foreign policy, bursts of influential bipartisanship and, most notably, an opportunistic transition from close friend and ally of Sen. John McCain and fierce critic of Donald Trump to one of President Trump’s staunchest supporters. His death complicates several items on the congressional agenda as the House and Senate return this week from a two-week recess, with another recess looming in August.
Let’s look at several areas where Graham’s absence may be felt.
Budget reconciliation bill: Graham chaired the Senate Budget Committee and was set to play a key role as Republicans sought to enact a third party-line reconciliation bill this Congress. The bill would provide a $350 billion boost in defense spending but was already seen as a long shot given the challenges Republicans face in agreeing on legislative details and offsetting spending cuts.
Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly said Monday that Republicans in his chamber will look to advance a budget framework, the first step toward a reconciliation package, through the House Budget Committee on Wednesday.
But the outlook in the Senate remains unclear. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin is in line to take over for Graham as chair of the Senate Budget Committee, and he brings a different emphasis. “The Wisconsin Republican is a vocal fiscal hawk who’s demanded that Republicans make massive cuts to federal spending, especially social programs,” Punchbowl News noted this morning. “Johnson told us in June that if Republicans do a third reconciliation bill, he’ll be ‘far more stalwart in insisting that we return to a reasonable pre-pandemic level of spending.’”
NDAA and defense supplemental funding bill: Senate Republicans are expected to bring the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual defense policy bill, to a floor vote this week. The end of the ceasefire in the Iran war has renewed the pressure on lawmakers to have their say on the conflict, and Senate Democrats are threatening to oppose the NDAA — an extraordinary move for a bill that usually sails through Congress with strong bipartisan support.
In a letter to colleagues Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that Republicans “are pushing to advance the annual NDAA while refusing to negotiate on the President’s bloated, partisan topline budget request that would dump billions more into the defense industry while long-overdue investments in American communities wait.”
Confirmation hearings: The Senate Judiciary Committee will be holding a confirmation hearing this week for Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general who is Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department on a permanent basis. “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,” Politico reports. (The Senate Intelligence Committee is also scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton, the president’s choice to be director of national intelligence.)
Russia sanctions: Graham headed a bipartisan push to impose stiffer sanctions on Russia and countries that buy Russian oil and gas. His death may add to the momentum behind the effort, which saw Graham work with Republican Sen. Roger Wicker and Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Jeanne Shaheen.
“On Friday, Senators Graham, Blumenthal, Wicker and I announced White House support for our Russia sanctions legislation to help finally achieve peace for Ukraine, which Lindsey described as one of his most consequential efforts,” Shaheen said in a statement Sunday. “There can be no more fitting memorial to Lindsey, his legacy or the causes he fought for than to pass this legislation and realize his long-held dream of an independent and secure Ukraine.”