Lindsey Graham is in the middle of Trump’s whirlwind

Lindsey Graham is defending President Donald Trump day by day on impeachment. He’s in the mix on Syria. He’s operating the powerful Judiciary Committee. And don’t overlook what he calls his “new thing” — laws to keep plastic out of the ocean.

The South Carolina Republican has thrust himself into the middle of the action in the course of the Trump presidency — typically enjoying each side. He’s Trump’s loudest defender however publicly chastises the president over overseas policy. He’s condemned Democrats’ impeachment inquiry however previously launched legislation to guard former special counsel Robert Mueller.

"The Trump presidency- it’s like daily is Christmas,” Graham stated. “You don’t know what’s underneath the tree. It may be that shotgun you’ve been hoping to get, or it may be a sweater you don’t need ... There’s something underneath the tree... It makes it enjoyable.”

For Graham, who spoke with POLITICO in an interview in his Capitol Hill workplace and views himself as a dealmaker, this is his candy spot and one he is seizing on now particularly: He’s certainly one of Trump’s largest defenders on Capitol Hill but continues to be a go-to lawmaker for Democrats who need to work across the aisle on legislation. But his whipsawing round Washington might pose a menace to his credibility, notably as he prepares for his reelection marketing campaign and tries to evade a main challenger.

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Unwell.), who has criticized the South Carolina senator, laments his handling of the Judiciary Committee in addition to the dearth of any laws advancing out of it.

“I’m afraid he’s type of stuck on the earth of Mitch McConnell,” Durbin stated, referencing the GOP leader’s prioritization of judicial confirmations in the Senate.

However Durbin, who also sits on the Judiciary Committee with Graham, added that he maintains a great working relationship with Graham that “shocks everyone at residence," noting their work on immigration and felony justice reform. And he concedes that in the GOP-controlled Senate, Graham “is the one show on the town,” in terms of finding a Republican senator to companion with.

Still, it may possibly typically be exhausting to pin Graham down.

When Trump introduced final month he would withdraw troops from northern Syria, Graham warned it will be the “worst mistake” of his presidency, threatened Turkey with “crippling sanctions” for its incursion into Syria and teamed up with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on a Turkish sanctions bill. However Graham also praised Trump for his handling of a ceasefire, and stated the president has “rebuilt the army in the picture of Ronald Reagan.”

Following the tragic mass shootings in Ohio and Texas over the summer time that left dozens lifeless, Graham joined with Democratic senator and frequent Trump goal Richard Blumenthal on laws that would set up a grant program for states to limit firearm entry for people who pose a danger to themselves or others. However the invoice has but to be introduced.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who labored with Graham on laws to guard Mueller’s investigation, described his working relationship with Graham as “both difficult and rewarding.”

“The problem is it’s the same guy,” Coons stated. “It’s the same Senator Graham who's simultaneously doing things on Judiciary with which I strongly disagree and doing issues on Overseas Relations and overseas help matters that I recognize. That’s a part of the challenge of with the ability to work across the aisle.”

Regardless of moments of bipartisanship, Graham stays considered one of Trump’s largest advocates on the Hill — a shocking turnaround for a senator who lost to Trump in the 2016 Republican main and once referred to him as a “jackass.”

“I hold telling my colleagues don’t get sucked into the drama of the second,” stated Graham, who incessantly golfs with the president. “The one thing concerning the president that I hope senators understand is he listens, he needs to achieve success and he just isn't an ideologue.”

Perhaps nowhere is Graham’s loyalty to Trump extra salient than with regards to the House impeachment inquiry, which he has derided as a "lynching." And regardless of damning testimony from White Home officials that Trump solicited assist from the Ukrainian authorities to research the Bidens, Graham sees nothing incorrect. He’s attacked the process, the media and even launched a decision condemning the House impeachment inquiry.

Trump rewarded him with a Twitter shoutout — and Graham declared victory after the Home agreed to vote on the subsequent steps forward of the impeachment inquiry final week.

Graham’s stance on Mueller's investigation into Russian interference is extra difficult. Last yr, he co-sponsored and supported legislation to guard Mueller but didn’t deliver it for a vote once he turned Judiciary Chairman, arguing that he didn’t assume Trump would hearth the special counsel.

“I supported legislation with Coons and Booker and Tillis to make sure that Mueller couldn’t be eliminated with out trigger because I really didn’t know,” Graham stated. “Mueller was the event for me. If Mueller found something where the Trump individuals truly had been working with the Russians unfairly, that might have been troublesome.”

But on the subject of the Home impeachment inquiry, Graham says “this entire Ukrainian BS is simply sour grapes [from] sore losers.”

Graham is already getting heat for altering his views of Trump from Jaime Harrison, a former chair of the South Carolina Democratic Get together vying for his Senate seat. Harrison describes Graham as a “political chameleon that modifications his stripes and colours to profit himself” and slammed him for getting “slim to none” achieved legislatively.

“We all know that Lindsey likes to be in the mix,” Harrison stated. “It could possibly be a gang of one and Lindsey Graham would need to be there if there’s a TV digital camera and a microphone. However at the end of the day how does that benefit the individuals of South Carolina?”

Senate Republicans are proud of Graham’s efforts to move judges by means of the Judiciary Committee. But Graham’ current determination to delay a vote on Trump’s controversial judicial nominee Halil Suleyman “Sul” Ozerden — an in depth pal of appearing White House chief of employees Mick Mulvaney — for an uncommon fourth time prompted some confusion amongst Republican staffers, who questioned the repeated delays.

Graham continues to be working on Ozerden’s nomination though he acknowledged a letter from the NAACP denouncing the decide was a setback for getting Democratic help.

The South Carolina Republican insists that regardless of his close relationship with the president, he's nonetheless the “similar guy” he was before Trump was elected. He argues that he has all the time cared about national security and that he worked on immigration issues lengthy earlier than Trump turned president.

He agrees with Trump on enhancing border safety and cracking down on asylum laws. He nonetheless wishes Trump had taken a compromise he struck last yr with Durbin on immigration and continues to help a pathway to citizenship. He incessantly notes Trump gained the 2016 election, not him.

However Graham also likes to be in the mix on issues which might be outdoors his typical purview. He tried a last-ditch effort with Sen. Invoice Cassidy (R-La.) in 2017 to repeal Obamacare — regardless of no history of being a well being care wonk. And on environmental issues, he partnered up with Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John Kerry (D-Mass) on a clean power bill that failed to move forward underneath President Barack Obama. Graham, who believes in local weather change, now needs to create a worldwide fund to deal with plastic air pollution within the ocean.

When senators are requested about Graham, they most regularly describe him as "engaged."

“Who? Who's that?” quipped Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) when asked about Graham’s Senate fashion. He added it’s a “challenge for all of us making an attempt to figure out methods to prioritize but he seems to take pleasure in all of it."

Whereas sitting in his office last week, Graham mirrored on now-deceased senators he admired, including the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), who he respected for his legislative expertise. When asked about criticism that he is not getting enough legislation carried out, Graham responded “the individuals back residence like the truth that I’m concerned." He argues he’s had an influence on Trump’s coverage in Syria and on impeachment.

“Placing collectively coalitions, arguing in the future, working the next... I inform every new member of the Senate - you simply obtained to understand that your enemy at present may be your ally tomorrow," he stated.

Article initially revealed on POLITICO Magazine

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