Lindsey Graham’s death triggers scramble to replace him as Congress returns – US politics live

Key events

Donald Trump will be hosting IndyCar race drivers at the White House this afternoon for a “Grand Prix showcase” ahead of the inaugural Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington in late August, according to NBC News. Racers Álex Palou, Felix Rosenqvist, Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks and others are set to be there, according to the reporting.

Chris Stein

When Democrats and Republicans were earlier this year locked in a standoff that had plunged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into the longest partial government shutdown in US history, news of a path forward emerged in the form of a statement from Republican senator Lindsey Graham.

By announcing that the budget committee he chairs would set to work on a measure to fund the agencies leading Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign for the remainder of his presidency, Graham played a major role in rallying the GOP behind a plan that reopened DHS.

It was a familiar role for Graham, whose office announced he had died on Saturday at the age of 71 after “a brief and sudden illness”. During his 23 years as senator for South Carolina, Graham developed a reputation as a dealmaker, appearing in the midst of critical negotiations with the Democratic opposition and members of his own party. It was a role he continued in the age of Trump, a leader Graham supported even if he had reservations with his approach to foreign policy.

“Lindsey was part of every important policy issue and an indispensable player in every Senate ‘gang’,” said Dick Durbin, the number two Senate Democrat. “He was a fierce Republican partisan one day and a key bipartisan ally the next.”

In the public eye, Graham’s reputation as the former often outshined the latter. While he would take part in negotiations with Democrats, he rarely went as far as to buck the White House when it had an occupant from his party. After gaining national renown for harshly criticizing Trump during the 2016 election then transforming into a supporter, Graham was a key player in the Senate Republicans’ failed effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and took part in Trump’s attempts to prevent Joe Biden from assuming office after the 2020 election.

But his career was marked by repeated instances of working across the aisle to resolve thorny legislative issues, with varying degrees of success.

Robert Mackey

The US senator Mitch McConnell on Sunday revealed for the first time that a fall led to his hospitalization, breaking the silence about the Kentucky Republican’s condition after weeks of mounting speculation about his health.

McConnell, 84, said in a statement that he has undergone a battery of tests as doctors try to determine what led to his fall. He explained the long silence about his condition by saying that “folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older”.

“Even in the public eye, I feel that same instinct – I can’t help it,” he said.

McConnell said he is now in a rehabilitation center and will not be returning to the Senate “quite yet”. He said he continues to work with his staff on Senate business in the meantime.

The statement included a smiling picture of McConnell with his wife, Elaine Chao, a tacit response to speculation online that he had died or was incapacitated. McConnell held a copy of Sunday’s Washington Post sports section in his hand.

Sunday’s statement came after his hospitalization on 14 June. McConnell’s office for weeks provided little information, insisting only that he was “receiving excellent care” and recovering.

Graham’s death triggers a scramble to replace him – what happens next?

George Chidi

South Carolina’s governor, Henry McMaster, has the political decision of a lifetime with the unexpected death in office of Senator Lindsey Graham. The Republican governor and loyalist of Donald Trump will appoint a new senator to serve out the remainder of Graham’s term, which ends on 3 January.

Whoever McMaster appoints will likely have a leg up in a special primary election on 11 August to fill Graham’s place on the November ballot, which he won despite facing five challengers from his party in June. That election calendar favors candidates with wide name recognition and deep institutional support.

The candidate would still run against Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a pediatrician who gained significant support in the red state, but still faces an uphill challenge.

Congressman Joe Wilson has reportedly expressed interest in the seat. Of the Republican delegation to Washington, Wilson is the longest tenured. He has represented South Carolina’s second congressional district since 2001, and his activism within the state’s Republican party predates its dominance in the state’s politics.

“With the passing of Senator Lindsay Graham he will always be cherished as an American Patriot tireless for peace through strength successful defeating totalitarians,” Wilson wrote on X. “All three generations of the Wilson family extend deepest sympathy and appreciation of his dedicated service.”

Lawmakers return to Congress as Graham’s death triggers scramble to replace him

Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.

Republican lawmakers return to the Capitol this week after the unexpected death in office of Lindsey Graham, as the party seeks to appoint a new senator to see out his term.

Lawmakers from both parties are eager to highlight before voters legislative victories ahead of the midterms, where control of Congress is at stake.

But for Senate Republicans, who are already navigating an array of demands from Trump, their agenda grew further complicated over the weekend with the death of Lindsey Graham, the budget committee chair who is a key player in negotiating a party line bill to fund additional defense spending and other priorities outlined by the president.

South Carolina governor Henry McMaster is tasked with appointing a new senator to serve out the remainder of Graham’s term, which ends on 3 January. The appointment is expected to be announced in a matter of days.

Whoever is chosen will likely have a leg up in a special primary election on 11 August to fill Graham’s place on the November ballot, which he won despite facing five challengers from his party in June.

The candidate would still run against Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a pediatrician who gained significant support in the red state, but still faces an uphill challenge.

It means that together with the ongoing absence of Mitch McConnell for unexplained health issues, Senate Republicans will have to navigate a majority that’s down two members.

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In other developments:

The Senate judiciary committee has scheduled two days of confirmation hearings for Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general Trump has nominated to the post, though it was unclear if the death of Graham, who served on the committee, will affect the schedule. The intelligence committee has separately announced that the confirmation of Clayton is back on.
Republicans in both chambers remain confounded by Trump’s renewed fixation on the Save America Act, which would ban mail-in ballots and impose new rules on voting nationwide. The measure, a version of which was approved by the House of Representatives earlier this year almost entirely with Republican votes, has no path through the Senate, where it faces opposition from Democrats and some in the GOP.
Ro Khanna accused the Israeli government and military of “lying” on Sunday about the US congressman’s detention by armed settlers and Israeli soldiers during a recent visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Khanna – a California Democrat – had posted video evidence on social media of Israeli settlers and soldiers blocking the path of his convoy on Wednesday in the South Hebron hills, near the village of Zanuta, where Israelis have driven Palestinians from their homes in what Amnesty International calls a government-backed “ethnic cleansing campaign”.