Senator Lindsey Graham joined me today: The post Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) On Changing The Senate Rules and “One More Club” appeared first on The Hugh Hewitt Show.
Senator Lindsey Graham joined me today:
Audio:
Transcript:
HH: So pleased to welcome back to the program Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Senator Graham, good to see you again. Welcome back. It’s always a pleasure.
LG: Thank you.
HH: You are up for reelection. I want to talk about that. I want to talk about President Trump’s first six months. But first, I want to talk about getting to recess. You’ve got a lot of nominees to move. What’s the strategy?
LG: I think we’re going to wind up changing the rules so we can move them. What the Democrats are doing is pretty outrageous. There have not been one person confirmed by voice vote. And at this time during Biden’s administration, we had 46 people confirmed by voice vote. About 90% of the people in the past have been confirmed without a vote on the floor. So they’re making it incredibly difficult. We changed the rules back in 2017, 2019 where there’s two hours debate on every nominee. We’re just going to shorten that time. Once somebody’s reported out of the committee, we’re going to bring them to the floor under the executive calendar and get them through. And the source of the problem is that Chuck Schumer is in a fight for his political life, and everybody’s afraid of the nut jobs on the left. And so they’re just being held hostage by the radical left who doesn’t want to do anything. I like Cory Booker, but his attack yesterday on his fellow Democrats tells you were the energy of their party is. And it’s in a pretty dark place.
HH: It is. It’s incredibly left, and they’re down to 8% with strongly support the Democratic Party, which is the lowest number in my lifetime. Senator, I have one nominee in particular I’m concerned about. You got Emil Bove confirmed. Congratulations. You’re on Judiciary.
LG: Yeah.
HH: But we need Mike Waltz at the U.N. yesterday.
LG: He’s coming.
HH: Can you get him put to the top of the list?
LG: We’re trying to. I’m talking to the White House. They’ve got some priorities of theirs for some of these jobs that are, they see to be mission essential. I’d like to have him at the U.N. yesterday. You know, you’ve got Morgan Ortagus up there. You’ll have Mike. You’ll have a great team. But yeah, we need him up there. UNGA will be here before you know it. So we’re working on a package to try to get out for the break here, but the long-term solution is a rules change. And again, I hate to say, but Senator Schumer started this whole filibustering of judges under Bush, along with Ted Kennedy. And it’s just completely changed the way the Senate operates. And every time he touches something, Senator Schumer, it goes south. And the reason we’re having to do this is because I really do believe he believes that if he does anything like a normal person, they’ll take him out.
HH: Well, I think AOC will anyway. That’s the problem for him. I’ll leave it at this. I’m a friend of Israel, and every friend of Israel wants Mike Waltz at the U.N. yesterday, because we’re getting hammered up there.
LG: Yeah.
HH: So if you’d go see the Leader and just relay it, I just think the only one, I ran down the list on the executive calendar. I want the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with a Trump nominee. I get it. I litigated against them for 27 years. But Waltz at the U.S. means the most. And so, yeah, he’d be number one.
LG: Yeah.
HH: Let me move to your reelection. I don’t know any of these Democrats who have filed. Would anyone recognize them in South Carolina? Is anyone running against you? Or are you like Tom Cotton six years ago?
LG: Oh, no, no, I’ve got three primary opponents that probably most people don’t know, or if they do know of them, they’ve got problems. But yeah, I’ll be challenged. I don’t know what it is about me. I seem to bring out the worst in everybody. But you know, last time, they spent $132 million dollars, Hugh, trying to beat me. Jaime Harrison, who became the DNC chairman, the most money ever raised in the history of the United States Senate was against me in South Carolina in 2020. $132 million dollars. That’s more than John McCain raised running for president. And oh, they’re coming after me again. There’s this Amy somebody, I can’t remember her name, from Charleston, ran against Nancy Mace and lost. And she raised $1.2 million dollars in three weeks. So every liberal hates me for two things, I think. I’ve become a friend of Trump, and I stopped their desire to destroy Kavanaugh. And I’ve been probably one of the most instrumental people creating the Court we have today from a conservative point of view, helping Roberts, helping Alito. You know, that’s a passion of yours. It’s always been a passion of mine. And that Court, helping that Court, and you know, standing up for Trump seems to be more than the market can…
HH: Well, I think it’s because you play golf with they President that you spin some people off into the ether.
LG: (laughing) I think I do.
HH: But do you expect the President…if you’re photographed with the President, and you haven’t got a gun aimed at him like the guy in the tree, then everybody hates you. Let me ask you, Senator, when you talk with President Trump, does he seem changed from the first term?
LG: Yeah, a little bit. I think he’s far more knowledgeable about Washington. He’s far more knowledgeable about the job of being president. The first six months is un-friggin-believable.
HH: Yup.
LG: We took the most broken border, 11 million people came across that border in four years that we know of, a couple million gotaways, and now they’re like 5 guys went across last week.
HH: Yeah.
LG: The bottom line is that Trump, through sheer will, secured that border. He told Mexico and everybody else if you don’t work with me to stop the flow, you will regret it. The number of, the amount of fentanyl is at an all-time low. And the reconciliation bill, which I was the budget chairman and very proud of, there’s $175 billion dollars in that bill to hire more ICE agents, finish the wall, and do all the things that we need to do to keep it secure. He has all the money he needs for four years to finish the job without one Democratic vote. But that’s the major success. We don’t even talk about it anymore. He’s put Putin on notice that he’s not going to play the game anymore that Biden played. Biden would say don’t, and Putin would run all over Ukraine. Trump tried to get Putin to the table. He tried to be enticing. That hasn’t worked. Now, he’s going to start putting tariffs on every country that buys Russian oil and gas and props Putin’s war machine up, starting with India. It’s been amazing. The One Big Beautiful Bill, you know, you’ve been around this stuff for quite a while. That, like me, that was the biggest domestic accomplishment in my lifetime as a result…
HH: Yeah, I started this radio show, and now it’s on television as well, in 2000. I think that’s the year you went to the Senate. So you’re right. I’ve watched a lot of it. I’ve never seen a six months like that. And you haven’t mentioned defending girls in women’s sports.
LG: Yeah.
HH: You haven’t mentioned ending the era of woke by crushing DEI and CRT.
LG: Yeah, yeah.
HH: And you haven’t mentioned the most important thing, which is destroying the Iranian nuclear program, which is the number one thing.
LG: Yeah, well, I wasn’t quite finished, but I wanted to come up for some air. We could spent the whole 11, 12, 13 minutes talking about the first six months. But here’s what bothers me. Why isn’t it resonating? If you believe in polling, and there’s a lot of polls showing that Trump’s at like 40% approval rating, we have to focus on making sure that when we accomplish these major things, that people understand what we’re doing and how it affects our lives. So I talked to the President a couple days ago. You know, go to the border. People have sort of just checked that box. Talk about what you’ve done, what you’re going to do, make sure it never goes back to the way it was. Talk about the Big Beautiful Bill. Hitting Iran, making them far away from a nuclear weapon compared to where they were. Talk about what would happen if they got a nuclear weapon. We’ve got to do a better job. Those of us who believe in President Trump and trying to help him, and letting the people know what he’s done. He’s turned this country around in six months. And it’s not resonating the way it should.
HH: It isn’t, because regulatory rollback is difficult to sell. Lower taxes isn’t, and every friend of Israel, helping Israel destroy not just their nuclear program, but basically reveal them as the paper tiger, I believe you and your old friend, John McCain, used to say again and again and again, hit Iran. Probably first in line to hit Iran. Long time, right?
LG: So it’s funny you mentioned that. See, John used to get a lot of grief for “Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran.”
HH: Yeah.
LG: Iran is the center of the terrorist universe. It’s the largest sponsor of terrorism in the world. It funds Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the center of government in Iran is a religious theocracy who believes in killing all the Jews, submitting Sunni Islam to Shia Islam, and driving the infidels like you and I out of the region. They have a very dark view of the world, and it is the center of the terrorism universe. And Donald Trump has put them in a box, pounded the crap out of them. Israel made them very exposed, and Trump finished off, put back their nuclear program by years by hitting Fordow. And we talked about bombing Iran, and he said I’m going to, what do you think about Iran? And I said why are you even calling me, and he laughed. He knew what I was going to say, which is hit them. But I said, Mr. President, the reason you need to hit them is that we can do things that Israel can’t that need to be done. But I did say this, having been a long-time golf partner of President Trump. If you do it, use one more club than you think you need.
HH: Oh.
LG: So if you look at the number of bombs that were dropped, it was one more club.
HH: He used a driver from 90 yards out.
LG: And there’s a guy, there’s a guy highly placed in the Pentagon…
HH: I’m coming right back with Lindsey Graham, Senator from South Carolina. He’s going to win again, and that’s a good thing. Don’t go anywhere. I’ve got a couple things to talk to him about beyond this. Stay tuned.
— – – –
HH: Senator Graham, you’ve long been a proponent of a strong national defense. You’ve got a lot of defense industries, submarines, I think in particular, down in South Carolina getting repaired. In the One Big Beautiful Bill, there’s $158 billion dollars for Defense. Any of that going to South Carolina? And is that enough, or do we have to do that year in and year out?
LG: Well, we’re going to do more. So when you look at the trajectory that Biden put us on, we were going below 3% of GDP, which would be an all-time low in Defense spending. Apples to apples comparison – how much is enough? What percentage of our gross domestic product should we put aside to defend ourselves? And if you use that analysis, GDP spending on Defense, we’re headed way in the toilet under Biden. Trump’s turning it around, first trillion dollar budget. The $150 billion dollars through reconciliation will help us rearm and retool. You know, any administration that runs out of bombs is doing something right, so we’re going to buy more bombs and more missiles, and this money really helped. And you wouldn’t have gotten that money from Democrats. They’d want half a trillion of domestic spending for $150 billion of Defense spending. But under reconciliation, we did not need their votes. They would have never given us money for the wall, to hire ICE agents, or to increase detention space by 100,000. We did all that without one Democratic vote. But one thing I forgot to tell you about Iran. So he calls me up, this is pretty close to the time we attacked. And he says what do you think? I said, Mr. President, you know what I think. If you’re going to do it, do it right. Use one more club than you need. Fast forward a couple weeks later. I got a guy from the Pentagon, and I will not tell you who he is, but he’s very high up. And he said have you ever heard the term one more club than you need? And I said, yeah.
HH: (laughing)
LG: (laughing) That came up at the meeting, at the discussion. I love this guy. I love Trump.
HH: If you write a book…
LG: He said have you ever heard of using one more club…
HH: …just use One More Club as the title, Senator. I’m pretty good at book titles. One More Club…
LG: (laughing) One More Club Than You Need.
HH: That’s going to be the title. Well, let me talk to you about the tariffs, because I’m going to have Oren Cass after you.
LG: Yeah.
HH: And I came into this as a free trader, worked for Reagan for five years, almost six.
LG: Yeah.
HH: Wasn’t so sure about it. But I looked at the numbers. We collected $27 billion in June. July will be higher. Scott Bessent says $300 billion by the end of the year. I view that kind of as a tax on the world for our keeping the freedom of navigation going through our Navy and our Air Force. What do you make of the trade and tariff policy, because South Carolina exports a lot, too. Are you worried about this stuff?
LG: Yeah, well, so there’s a couple categories. Tariff is a tool to change bad behavior? Count me in. If you do things to hurt America, we’re going to hurt you. So if you don’t help us with fentanyl, Mexico, we’re going to tariff your products. If you don’t help us close the border, we’re coming after you. It worked. What are we doing with people that buy Russian oil and don’t help Ukraine? China, India, and Brazil buy 80% of Putin’s oil, and they don’t do anything to help Ukraine. So Trump’s going to put a 100% tariff on all their products coming into America unless Putin goes to the peace table. So he’s using tariffs to change behavior, and I love it. He’s also using tariffs to get better trade deals. This EU deal, nobody could have done this but Trump. Oh, my God, is this a good deal for us. And he believes that people will pay 10-15% to have access to our markets, because we’re such a good deal for them. I think he’s right.
HH: So I don’t think you need more legislation. There’s an argument you might if the IEEPA is found to be wanting.
LG: Right.
HH: I just think it’s working, though. I’m just a pragmatic…
LG: Oh, my God, look what India did. India today announced they’re buying less Russian oil. Again, India, Brazil, China buy most of Russia’s oil. They do nothing to help Ukraine. Peel Putin’s customers away. He could care less about sanctions. He evades them. He doesn’t care about how many Russians are dying. But China will care.
HH: Okay.
LG: If they have to pick between helping Putin and the American economy, access to our economy, I’m thinking Putin goes to the table.
HH: They’ll pick us.
LG: Trump’s been a genius in handling tariffs.
HH: So last question. Political cycle 2026, the title charts of American politics say we lose. I’m not sure. I had breakfast with Scott Brown in New Hampshire last week. I’m, obviously Susan Collins is a friend of yours and mine, and I’m going to try and do what I can for her. I think the open seat in North Carolina is winnable, though Roy Cooper is a real opponent against Michael Whatley. I don’t think Jon Husted loses. How do you feel about keeping the Senate in 2026?
LG: Never felt better. I think Susan is the one Republican that can win in a state no other Republican can win in by being Susan Collins. She is a hawk on Defense, and a moderate on everything else. She has a view of Defense like you and I do. She wants a big, strong military and use it wisely. North Carolina? North Carolina is more red today than it was before. Trump’s got a hell of a story to tell. Working with President Trump, Republicans have a really good story to tell. We’ve just got to tell it. We’re doing things so fast and not getting the credit, I think, we need. But here’s what I think is going to win the day. The four years of Biden reminds us what happens if the wrong people run your government. By 2026, you’re going to have a secure border, a growing economy, new trade deals, and I think you’re going to have the end of the Russia-Ukraine war. And to our friends in Israel, we’re going to have your back to the bitter end here, and we’re hoping and praying we can get a deal between Saudi and Israel. Normalization pops back up after Gaza is over. So I am bullish on the Republican Party, including the House.
HH: So Senator, two last questions. What’s your website for the campaign? You’re not in the Congress, so you can tell me what it is.
LG: I can’t, because I’m sitting in my office.
HH: Oh, you can’t. When does One More Club get written? I want to read One More Club.
LG: So if I wrote a book about President Trump, it would be One More Club. It needed to be done, and you know what? The 2024 Election is going to pay dividends for the American people. And Thune and Johnson are working well together. We’re a well-oiled team up here. We need to do a better job of selling our successes, but that’s why I’m on your show.
HH: Well, thank you for being here to do that. Please walk across the street and talk to John Thune and tell him put Mike Waltz on the top of the list, and come back early and often. I don’t think it’s going to be close in South Carolina, but come back early and often whenever you want to, Senator. Good to see you.
LG: God bless you, my man.
HH: You, too.
End of interview.
The post Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) On Changing The Senate Rules and “One More Club” appeared first on The Hugh Hewitt Show.
