6 things to know about Lindsey Graham's death

People have strong feelings about the former Trump critic who became a key backer. Here are the practical implications of his death.

Unlike a lot of noise that emanates from Washington, DC, the sudden death of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on July 11 is a legitimate cataclysm. Graham, 71, was one of President Trump’s most dependable allies on Capitol Hill, helping enact Trump’s agenda while also playing a role in shaping it. His death has a number of immediate implications.

We’ll leave most of the memorializing to others, except to point out that Graham had become a polarizing figure, mainly because he went from brutal Trump critic in 2016 to Trump crony and booster just a few years later. Graham’s shape-shifting—which some call hypocrisy—is now manifesting itself in a wide range of retrospectives.

The Wall Street Journal, for instance, praised Graham as a savvy internationalist and proclaimed his death “a loss for the country and the cause of global freedom.”

The Daily Beast seems to be talking about a different person when it describes Graham as “evil’s enabler” and “an opportunist who traded principle for power.”

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The Atlantic has a good explainer on why Graham flipped from Trump basher to Trump insider: To be relevant and have some influence on Trump’s agenda.

Meanwhile, here are some of the real-world consequences of Graham’s death:

The vote stays the same, but the clout does not. South Carolina’s Republican governor quickly appointed Graham’s younger sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to serve out the remainder of her brother’s term, which expires next January. She’ll play a caretaker role, voting the party line. But she won’t have any of her brother’s influence on defense, budget and other key issues. And she won’t have sway with Trump the way Lindsey did.

Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination will be harder. Graham was an influential member of the Judiciary Committee, which has to advance Blanche’s nomination before it heads to the full Senate for a vote. Ailing Sen. Mitch McConnell is also on the committee, and his absence due to an ongoing illness cuts the GOP majority from three seats to two. And two of those Republican senators, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas, are leaving and not necessarily doing Trump any favors. If they both decide to oppose Blanche without Lindsey Graham around to advocate for Trump’s guy, it could delay or doom his nomination.

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Ukraine lost a key ally. Graham was a defense hawk and strong advocate for robust US aid to Ukraine, which he visited just days before his death. Trump has grown more supportive of Ukraine in recent weeks, with Graham likely prodding him in that direction. Ukraine has lost what may be its fiercest advocate with inside access to Trump.

Russia may get a reprieve. Graham was one of the main backers of new legislation that would put heavy sanctions on Russian oil sales, to limit the revenue it needs to fight the war inside Ukraine it’s been waging for more than four years. The bill has bipartisan support, but Trump was wavering, until Graham said just a few days ago that the White House was finally on board.

Will it stay that way? Some supporters of the legislation say Congress should pass it as a tribute to Graham. But if he’s not there as the Trump whisperer, will Trump back the bill? Unclear.

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Budget bills could stall. Graham was chair of the Budget Committee, which has been working on a partisan spending bill that would include $350 billion in defense spending, including funding for the Iran war, and possibly some tax cuts. The nature of the bill would make it one of the few able to bypass the filibuster, which means Democrats couldn’t block it if all Republicans vote in favor. Graham’s absence will delay that process.

Trump’s election bill still isn’t going to pass. Trump said on July 12 that Graham’s death “is a big blow to the SAVE America Act,” the GOP election-reform bill that some critics deride as a voter-suppression effort. Trump made it sound as if Graham had somehow found a way to get the bill through the Senate, where there aren’t nearly enough votes to overcome the filibuster. But Trump is blustering. The Save America Act was always a long shot, and Graham’s death probably doesn’t change that at all.

If Republicans keep control of the Senate in November—plausible, but not assured—they’ll cleanly fill Graham’s many roles with other members by the time the Senate starts work in 2027. What they won’t be able to replace is a gadfly gladhander reviled by some, liked by many and unusually influential with Trump. Even by Washington standards, Graham was a standout.