{"id":933049,"date":"2026-07-13T23:50:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T23:50:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/933049\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T23:50:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T23:50:29","slug":"senate-returns-to-washington-after-graham-death-with-uncertain-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/933049\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate returns to Washington after Graham death with uncertain agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Senate Republicans returned to Washington on Monday with an uncertain agenda after the sudden death of prominent Republican Lindsey Graham<\/a>, a committee chairman and key player who served as a crucial ally<\/a> of President Donald Trump. <\/p>\n

Graham, 71, died Saturday evening after a tear in his aorta<\/a>, according to a statement from his office Sunday. The shocking news came as another prominent Republican senator, former Republican leader Mitch McConnell, has been hospitalized for almost a month. McConnell broke a weekslong silence about his health<\/a> Sunday, saying he was still recovering after suffering from pneumonia and falling in his home.<\/p>\n

The continued absence of McConnell, R-Ky., and the surprise death of the South Carolina senator have shaken Republicans who were already at odds with Trump<\/a> and stalled on several priorities as they return from a two-week recess. And the reduced Republican numbers in the 53-47 Senate are sure to add confusion to what was already expected to be a chaotic and difficult few months before the November midterm elections. <\/p>\n

Despite consolidated power in Washington, Republicans have been unable to move much of their legislation forward as the Senate, House and White House have disagreed on legislative priorities and as Trump has criticized Senate Republicans, in particular, for not passing his legislation to require proof of citizenship for voters<\/a>. Graham, who was one of Trump\u2019s closest friends in the Senate, often served as a pivotal intermediary.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a great \u2014 like a gauge, a temperature gauge of the Senate,\u201d Trump said of Graham on NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d on Sunday, noting he had talked to Graham on Saturday. \u201cHe could go in and get something approved. He would just get people on his side.\u201d <\/p>\n

As the Senate convened Monday, Graham\u2019s desk was draped in black cloth and held a vase of white roses, as is customary when a senator dies in office. In his opening remarks, Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said \u201cit\u2019s difficult to count the ways in which Lindsey\u2019s friendship made this job richer and its burdens lighter.\u201d <\/p>\n

Graham \u201cwas as loyal as they come and a trusted adviser,\u201d Thune said. <\/p>\n

Republican priorities are stalled <\/p>\n

The Senate left town two weeks ago after a rough few weeks for Republicans. Trump blocked senators from confirming one of his own nominees<\/a>, asked them to fund parts of his White House ballroom project<\/a> despite opposition and forced them to defend the Iran war<\/a> even as they questioned the strategy and endgame<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He also refused to sign a bipartisan, election year housing bill<\/a> that had passed overwhelmingly in both chambers, arguing that they should pass his bill to require proof of citizenship, the SAVE America Act, instead. The housing bill became law Friday at midnight after he declined to sign it but did not veto it<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The alliance between Trump and Senate Republicans has also been weakened after the president endorsed the opponents of two Republican senators who had been reliable votes, John Cornyn of Texas and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Cassidy challenged Trump directly on the Iran war in a Capitol meeting between Trump and Republicans just before they left town. <\/p>\n

Senate\u2019s agenda is uncertain <\/p>\n

Republicans return to a number of important agenda items, including the confirmation of Trump\u2019s pick for attorney general, Todd Blanche<\/a>, and the confirmation of Jay Clayton<\/a>, whom Trump selected to be director of national intelligence and later temporarily blocked. Both will testify in confirmation hearings this week. <\/p>\n

Senate Republicans also must find a way to navigate Democratic opposition and Trump\u2019s continued ire to keep the government open and prevent a government shutdown when the current fiscal year ends on Sept. 30. Graham was a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, as is McConnell. <\/p>\n

Graham also sat on the Judiciary Committee that will consider Blanche\u2019s nomination and is the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, which has been under pressure from House Republicans and Trump to move a budget package with increased defense spending for Iran.<\/p>\n

There is also bipartisan legislation to move forward on a package of Russia sanctions<\/a> that Graham and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut had announced on Friday after an agreement with the Trump administration. <\/p>\n

Blumenthal told The Associated Press on Sunday that Graham was \u201cabsolutely focused on this moment\u201d as they announced the sanctions package after months of negotiations. He said he hopes Graham\u2019s memory will inspire the Senate to move forward. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve really reached this moment where all of the stars are aligned and we will be lacking Lindsey\u2019s spectacular advocacy,\u201d Blumenthal said. <\/p>\n

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also urged passage of the sanctions bill as they spoke about Graham on the Senate floor Monday. <\/p>\n

Graham\u2019s death came after a trip to Ukraine <\/p>\n

Senate leaders have not announced how they will honor Graham, who died after a tear in the inner wall of the aorta, called an aortic dissection, related to hardening of Graham\u2019s arteries, according to his office. An official cause of death will be disclosed after toxicological and microscopic testing, his office said. <\/p>\n

Graham, a prominent South Carolina Republican<\/a> and former Air Force lawyer who served in Congress for more than three decades, had just returned from a trip to Ukraine. Thune said it was Graham\u2019s 10th trip to the country, and he \u201cdied with his boots on.\u201d <\/p>\n

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster on Monday appointed Graham\u2019s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, as his temporary replacement<\/a> in the Senate. She will serve for the remainder of his term, which ends in January. <\/p>\n

A special election will be held next month to pick a new Republican nominee in the general election for Graham\u2019s seat. He had been seeking a fifth term this year.<\/p>\n

Possible candidates include three Republicans who fell short for the party\u2019s nomination for governor this year \u2014 Rep. Nancy Mace, Rep. Ralph Norman and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette. Also in the mix is Rep. Russell Fry, who was elected to the House in 2022.<\/p>\n

McConnell not expected to return immediately <\/p>\n

McConnell\u2019s Sunday announcement revealed for the first time that a fall led to his hospitalization, breaking the silence about his condition after weeks of mounting speculation<\/a> about his health.<\/p>\n

The Kentucky Republican, who is retiring in January, said in a statement that he was \u201cbriefly unconscious\u201d around the time he was first taken to the hospital in June and has undergone a battery of tests to try to determine what led to his fall. He said he was also treated for mild pneumonia and has been moved to a rehabilitation facility.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy doctors have confirmed that I didn\u2019t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn\u2019t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don\u2019t have any tumors or hemorrhages,\u201d McConnell said, adding that he is now \u201cregaining my strength.\u201d <\/p>\n

He said he cannot return to the Senate \u201cquite yet.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Senate Republicans returned to Washington on Monday with an uncertain agenda after the sudden death…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":933050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[42098,8120,45319,327,12785,84,69,90,57,47593,51,20991,83,6087,51743,25227,8121,2934,16541,8132,17111,118949,50,350149,25007,80,376193,376192,16816,32857,3036,95,52,121682,322,67,8128,370,93],"class_list":["post-933049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-bill-cassidy","tag-charles-schumer","tag-chuck-grassley","tag-congress","tag-dc-wire","tag-district-of-columbia","tag-donald-trump","tag-elections","tag-general-news","tag-government-appointments-and-nominations","tag-headlines","tag-henry-mcmaster","tag-iran","tag-iran-war","tag-jay-clayton","tag-john-cornyn","tag-john-thune","tag-legislation","tag-lindsey-graham","tag-military-and-defense","tag-mitch-mcconnell","tag-nancy-mace","tag-news","tag-pamela-evette","tag-pneumonia","tag-politics","tag-ralph-norman","tag-russell-fry","tag-sanctions-and-embargoes","tag-sc-state-wire","tag-south-carolina","tag-todd-blanche","tag-top-stories","tag-u-s-government-shutdown","tag-u-s-republican-party","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-congress","tag-united-states-government","tag-washington-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/933049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=933049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/933049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/933050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=933049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=933049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=933049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}