Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, has backed down from his demands to include a provision in the latest government spending bill that would allow senators targeted by former special counsel Jack Smith to seek millions of dollars from the Justice Department. However, he remains determined to hold up the vote on the bill unless it includes measures to "criminalize" the targeting of lawmakers.
Graham's stance was met with criticism from Senate Democrats and the White House, which agreed late Thursday to strip funding for the Department of Homeland Security from the package, replacing it with a two-week stopgap measure. The U.S. House of Representatives had previously voted to strip Graham's controversial Arctic Frost provision from the bill, which would have allowed senators to sue the Justice Department if their phone records are seized without their knowledge.
Graham championed the provision due to his own experience having his phone records seized by the Biden Administration and then-special counsel Jack Smith during the January 6 investigation. However, other Republican senators affected by the Arctic Frost probe distanced themselves from the provisions, leaving Graham's battle as a singular one.
Despite this, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries described Graham's persistence as "a temper tantrum" over what he called a "multi-million-dollar slush fund". In response, Graham took to the Senate floor on Friday morning, calling his critics "politically dumb as a rock".
Speaking about the House's removal of the Arctic Frost provision, Graham vowed to hold up the vote unless he gets guaranteed a vote on his legislation that would criminalize the targeting of lawmakers. He accused Speaker Johnson of ignoring him and failing to consult with him before removing the entire provision.
Graham's actions have raised questions about his approach to governance and whether he is willing to compromise in order to achieve his goals. The senator's determination to push forward with his demands has also sparked concerns about the potential impact on the government shutdown, which is set to occur unless a deal can be reached before midnight tonight.
Graham's stance was met with criticism from Senate Democrats and the White House, which agreed late Thursday to strip funding for the Department of Homeland Security from the package, replacing it with a two-week stopgap measure. The U.S. House of Representatives had previously voted to strip Graham's controversial Arctic Frost provision from the bill, which would have allowed senators to sue the Justice Department if their phone records are seized without their knowledge.
Graham championed the provision due to his own experience having his phone records seized by the Biden Administration and then-special counsel Jack Smith during the January 6 investigation. However, other Republican senators affected by the Arctic Frost probe distanced themselves from the provisions, leaving Graham's battle as a singular one.
Despite this, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries described Graham's persistence as "a temper tantrum" over what he called a "multi-million-dollar slush fund". In response, Graham took to the Senate floor on Friday morning, calling his critics "politically dumb as a rock".
Speaking about the House's removal of the Arctic Frost provision, Graham vowed to hold up the vote unless he gets guaranteed a vote on his legislation that would criminalize the targeting of lawmakers. He accused Speaker Johnson of ignoring him and failing to consult with him before removing the entire provision.
Graham's actions have raised questions about his approach to governance and whether he is willing to compromise in order to achieve his goals. The senator's determination to push forward with his demands has also sparked concerns about the potential impact on the government shutdown, which is set to occur unless a deal can be reached before midnight tonight.
The fact that Sen. Lindsey Graham is still holding out for a vote on his legislation despite it being removed from the spending bill suggests that he may not be willing to budge 
. This stance raises concerns about his approach to governance, and whether he's more interested in scoring political points than finding common ground 
. On one hand, I can understand why he'd want to protect lawmakers' rights if they're being targeted by the Justice Department 
. However, his tantrum-like behavior (as described by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries) 
may be counterproductive and hurt his own credibility. The potential government shutdown looms large, and it's unclear whether Graham's demands will ultimately have a lasting impact 
. Perhaps a more collaborative approach would yield better results for both parties 
.
. He's all bent out of shape because his precious little provision got stripped from the bill... and now he's threatening to hold up the whole thing unless they agree to his new "criminalize" nonsense 
.
sounds like just more empty promises from guys who can't even get their own acts together 
...
. Can't we all just get along and pass some actual legislation for once? 
I'm so tired of these politicians being super sensitive 
. Like, come on, dude, if you're that upset about your phone records getting seized, why not work with the rest of us to make it happen? Instead, he's holding the entire government hostage 
and expecting everyone else to cave in.
.
. Can't he see that his antics are only going to make things worse? 
like, I get it, he's got some issues with his phone records being seized but come on man, a "multi-million-dollar slush fund" ? 
that's not even close to the drama level. And seriously, calling his critics "politically dumb as a rock" ??? that's just not how you win friends in the Senate 
like, what's good? First, he's trying to strong-arm the government into giving him millions of dollars from the Justice Dept and now he's throwing a tantrum because they took out his "Arctic Frost" provision 
. Newsflash, Lindsey: your phone records getting seized doesn't give you carte blanche to sue everyone in sight 
... does that mean we should all be giving him millions of dollars just because he got his records back? No way, not cool 
... someone needs to take down Graham and put an end to this drama once and for all 
. Can't he just chill? 
The White House and Senate Democrats are right to call him out on this, by the way 
. And btw, what's up with his "politically dumb as a rock" comment? Low blow, Hakeem 
. Speaker Johnson should've just talked to him before removing the whole provision... guess that didn't happen