SC’s Graham is set to be influential voice in DC. And it’s more than having Trump’s ear BY JOSEPH BUSTOS NOVEMBER 20, 2024 12:00 AM COLUMBIA, S.C. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham is in line again to be one of the more influential voices in Washington, at least for the next two years. Graham’s well-known relationship with President-elect Donald Trump allows the senior senator from South Carolina to have the ear of the president as he returns to the White House for a second term. The two are known for being regular golf partners. But with Republicans in control of the Senate, Graham also will be the budget committee chairman, giving him high influence over federal spending and tax policy. Before the election, Graham telegraphed what he would like to do running the Senate Committee on the Budget. The tax cuts passed in 2017 during the first Trump term are set to expire at the end of 2025. Graham is looking to extend the life of those tax cuts. “So my primary job as budget chairman is to try to get as much of the tax policy we can into a reconciliation bill that would just require a majority vote,” Graham said in an interview in August. “So I am spending a lot of time talking to my House colleagues on the budget side and my staff getting ready for that possibility.” Graham also will be a high-ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, giving him a chance to have influence over a potential U.S. Supreme Court pick if a vacancy arises. Graham chaired the Judiciary Committee in 2020 when he was running for reelection and when Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died less than two months before the election. Graham shepherded through the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. The effort aired on cable television and led to high fundraising numbers for Graham’s reelection bid against Democrat Jaime Harrison. The Judiciary Committee also will oversee the confirmation hearing for Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz, a former Florida congressman who is mired in controversy over whether he used drugs, paid a woman to have sex and whether he had sex with an underage girl. Gaetz has previously denied the allegations. Graham will be running for reelection in 2026, and the bid to keep seat will most likely begin to ramp up in 2025, if not sooner. In a memo written by Graham campaign Finance Director Tara Spicer, obtained by The State newspaper, the Graham campaign is touting the work he did to help Republicans gain control of the U.S. Senate. “Solidifying a Republican majority in the Senate and House is a key component of enacting the Make America Great Again Agenda,” Spicer wrote in the memo. “To that end, Senator Lindsey Graham helped raise millions of dollars for Republican candidates.” Graham’s campaign said he campaigned in multiple states including being a surrogate in the swing states of Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin on behalf the Trump campaign, Republican Senate campaigns, GOP committees and political organizations during the 2023-24 cycle. Trump won all of those states. In Pennsylvania, Republican Dave McCormick appears to have knocked off Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, but a recount is taking place in that contest. That work could have earned Graham goodwill among his Senate colleagues especially as the Seneca resident seeks a fifth term. Graham has faced primary challengers in each of his last three election cycles. However, he never needed a runoff to win the nomination in those reelection battles. U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-Rock Hill, has reportedly considered challenging Graham. But Norman’s office has since said he hasn’t given hints of his 2026 election plans. Graham, who has $13.7 million cash on hand for his 2026 campaign, helped raise $2.6 million for the National Republican Senatorial Committee and GOP Senate candidates. Through his own campaign committee and his leadership PAC, Graham also contributed $259,000 to the NRSC, the National Republican Congressional Committee, the South Carolina Republican Party and the other federal candidates for the 2024 campaign. Graham also appeared on Sunday news programs 26 times between November 2023 and November 2024, in addition to numerous cable news appearances. During this year’s campaign, political ads warned that if the Republican Party took back the Senate, Graham and U.S. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, would set the agenda. “Graham was undeterred by these attacks and GOP candidates sought out his presence on the campaign trail,” Spicer wrote.
| 
