The unexpected and untimely death of Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, along with the significant physical ailments of 84-year-old former GOP Senate Majority Leader U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, makes an already uncertain midterm election cycle even more so and could make key elements of Republican Trump’s agenda more difficult to pass in the Senate.
Graham was pronounced dead at George Washington University Hospital in Washington after being rushed there when stricken with a cardiac episode at his Capitol Hill home Saturday evening. Initial reports indicate his death stemmed from an “aortic dissection” – a tear in his aorta. The senator had just returned from meetings in Ukraine.
The son of a pool hall operator, Graham came to Congress in the 1994 U.S. House elections as a champion of Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America.” Another member of the Class of 1994 is current Mississippi Republican senior U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, who won his first congressional election that year.
The House freshman class connection between Wicker and Graham remained as both rose through the Capitol Hill ranks and later joined the Senate. Both exerted considerable influence on military and foreign policy matters. Wicker chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee while Graham chaired the Senate Budget Committee.
Ironically, if the GOP maintains control of the Senate, Graham’s death will likely elevate Wicker’s stature in the country’s national security realm. After learning of Graham’s death, Wicker said: “There are no words to describe Lindsey Graham, my friend of more than three decades. There are no words to describe his impact on the foreign and domestic policy of the United States.”
The Southerners were two of the Senate’s strongest voices advocating support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. The men shared common service in the U.S. Air Force in addition to their “Contract with America” days.
Graham’s tenure in the Senate brought him into the orbit of the late Mississippi GOP U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran at the very height of his Capitol Hill powers. Along with the late U.S. Sen. John McCain, Graham called on Republicans to unify behind Cochran after the divisive 2014 Mississippi Senate primaries.
Cochran’s successor, Mississippi Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Brookhaven, has generally aligned with Graham on key issues and, as Graham did, has maintained a close relationship with the Trump White House.
After Graham’s death, the Senate partisan split is 52 Republicans, 46 Democrats and two independents who caucus with the Democrats, making the effective margin 52-48. So, while Graham’s death did not directly affect partisan control of the chamber, it made the narrow margin even narrower.
In the House, Republicans have a five-seat edge, 218 to 213, with special elections and vacancies making control of the chamber after the mid-terms hard to gauge.
Perhaps the most immediate impact of Graham’s death will come on the fortunes of President Trump’s “Save America Act.” That legislation does not appear to have sufficient votes to clear the 60-vote threshold.
Additionally, McConnell’s health issues and related absences from the Senate threaten Trump’s bid for additional funding for defense and specifically for the war in Iran. McConnell’s Appropriations Committee chair of the Defense Subcommittee may exacerbate the impact of Graham’s death. Graham was expected to champion the spending bill.
Deaths, defeats, and other vacancies have transpired to move Mississippi’s Roger Wicker into the Top 5 Senate Republicans in terms of seniority in the next Congress.
For most of Mississippi's modern history, seniority has translated directly into money, military installations, infrastructure projects, agricultural influence, and political clout for a relatively small, relatively poor state with a small congressional delegation. Because of that reality, Mississippi’s Capitol Hill influence has depended less on the size of its delegation and more on how powerful those members become over time.
Sid Salter is a syndicated columnist. Contact him at sidsalter@sidsalter.com.
2 comments:
With Salter its all about the pork, all of the time.
Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith are still in the Senate? Who knew?
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