All posts tagged "lindsey graham"

Senator Lindsey Graham issued an alarming threat during a Fox News appearance with host Maria Bartiromo, hinting at imminent military escalation, and alarming longtime ally Meghan McCain.

"You just wait to see what comes the next two weeks," Graham told Bartiromo, maintaining an air of mystery about potential military operations.

When pressed for clarification on what he meant, Graham abandoned any pretense of diplomatic language. "We're going to blow the hell out of these people," he stated bluntly, appearing to reference Iran and its allies.

Graham's inflammatory rhetoric has prompted alarm even among conservative figures typically aligned with aggressive foreign policy positions. Meghan McCain, daughter of the late Senator John McCain, issued a direct plea to the Trump administration regarding Graham's role as a surrogate for the administration's messaging.

"I've known Lindsey Graham since I was a child," McCain wrote. "I am imploring anyone who will listen in the Trump administration to stop sending this man out as a surrogate. He is scaring people and doing damage to whatever message you're trying to sell to the American public about the Iran war."

McCain's criticism suggests that even within Republican circles, concern is mounting about Graham's inflammatory language potentially undermining efforts to build public support for continued military action in the Middle East.

I’ve known Lindsey Graham since I was a child. I am imploring anyone who will listen in the Trump administration to stop sending this man out as a surrogate. He is scaring people and doing damage to whatever message you’re trying to sell to the American public about the Iran war. https://t.co/8SjGsIfMzT
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) March 8, 2026

Senator Lindsey Graham issued a stark warning during a Fox News interview, suggesting the United States and Israel are planning significant military escalation in the coming weeks.

"You just wait to see what comes the next two weeks," Graham told host Maria Bartiromo, refusing to elaborate on his cryptic statement.

When Bartiromo pressed for clarification, Graham responded bluntly: "We're going to blow the hell out of these people."

The South Carolina Republican's comments represent an escalation in rhetoric from the Trump administration regarding military operations in the Middle East. Graham has consistently been among the most hawkish voices calling for aggressive military action against Iran and its allies.

The senator's vague but menacing language suggests coordinated planning between Washington and Tel Aviv, though he provided no specific details about targets, timing, or scope of potential operations.

Graham's remarks come as the Iran conflict enters its second week, with military analysts already warning of "mission creep" beyond the initial stated objectives. The senator's comment also contradicts Trump's 2024 campaign messaging about avoiding foreign entanglements.

His threat of additional military action could further erode support among Trump's voter base, which expressed initial skepticism about the Iran conflict's necessity and cost.

As Congress scrambles to pass a funding bill by Friday night to avert a government shutdown, a “Lindsey-Graham-sized snag” has emerged that could upend the effort, Politico reported Friday.

Last year’s government shutdown – the single-longest in U.S. history – ended after lawmakers agreed to a temporary spending measure that would fund the government through Jan. 30. As that deadline fast approached, a compromise endorsed by President Doanld Trump appeared ready to sail through the Senate.

It was Thursday night, Politico reported, that “Graham made his move.”

“He refused to go along with the plan over a House-backed provision that would repeal a law allowing senators to receive cash payouts if they had phone records seized by former special counsel Jack Smith – the South Carolina Republican included,” Politico reported.

Smith in 2022 was tasked with investigating Trump for both his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and his mishandling of classified documents. As part of those investigations, Smith had obtained phone records of nine GOP lawmakers, including Graham.

The spending bill Graham tanked included a provision allowing those GOP lawmakers to sue over the seizure of their phone records, a measure Graham has said he plans to use to seek more than $1 million in damages.

“If you think I’m going to settle this thing for a million dollars? No,” Graham said last November when asked if he planned to use the provision and sue over the seizure of his phone records. “I want to make it so painful, no one ever does this again.”

Senate Leader John Thune (R-SD) told Politico that despite Graham’s last-minute action, he was hopeful that after a night’s rest, Graham might be willing to reconsider.

“Hopefully by sometime tomorrow we’ll be in a better spot,” Thune said after leaving the Capitol Thursday night, Politico reported. “Tomorrow’s another day, and hopefully people will be in a spirit to try and get this done.”

Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham came under fire Friday for being the only lawmaker to sign on to a GOP self-enrichment scheme.

Jake Sherman appeared on MS NOW ahead of the weekend, where he was asked about a ploy that would allow senators who are investigated by the government to sue for potentially millions of dollars. Specifically, the host asked him, "Why in the world they thought it was a good idea to tuck this into the shutdown bill and whether they expected this blowback."

"I could not give you any reason why anybody with a brain thought this was a good idea politically," Sherman replied. "I mean, substantively, what they're trying to do is they're trying to discourage the administration from any administration, from spying on on senators. I mean, that's what they say they're trying to do, and they're trying to make there be a recourse if they do. So if DOJ or some other investigatory agency surveils your data. The couple of interesting things here. Right. Like this is only for senators, right. So ... if you're a member of the House and your data was surveilled and collected, then you're not able to sue. So that's number one. Number two, as you said, Katie, this is taxpayer money."

So far, according to Sherman, Graham is on an "island" as the only senator to say he would take advantage of the policy.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) made a bold prediction Sunday that the ongoing government shutdown would end “today,” while accusing Democratic lawmakers of engaging in what he called “political terrorism.”

Now on its 40th day, the ongoing government shutdown has officially become the single-longest shutdown in U.S. history. It began on Oct. 1 after Democrats refused to back any spending package that did not include an extension of Obamacare subsidies, which, if allowed to expire, will see 4 million Americans lose health insurance and hike premiums by 114% for millions more.

“I think this madness ends today! This political terrorism Democrats have been using – shutting down airports, people not getting paid, SNAP benefits going away – it's backfiring,” Graham said Sunday, speaking with Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo.

“They want us to do two things by terrorizing the country: repeal the $1.5 trillion in savings we had from the Big Beautiful Bill... and they also want us to continue for another year Obamacare, which is the biggest scam on the planet!”

Graham went on to back a new proposal President Donald Trump had floated on Saturday to, instead of funding an extension to Obamacare subsidies, send that money directly to Americans in a multi-billion dollar payout, similar to the stimulus checks Americans received during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Senate is set to convene Sunday at 1:30 p.m. EST, and Bartiromo, attempting to clarify Graham’s statement, asked him to affirm his statement.

“Yes, today – the government will re-open today!” Graham said.

“We're not going to talk about health care until it does, and when it does, Donald Trump is going to lead this nation to change Obamacare where all the money goes to the seven-top insurance companies in the world, they have been enriched from 500% to 1,000% increase in stock while premiums under Obamacare have over doubled. Trump's going to end that!”