Lindsey Graham R.I.P.

Friends,

It’s tempting in these perilous times to say bad things about Republican leaders who have died. Trump has no trouble demeaning and ridiculing opponents who have passed. But Trump shouldn’t be our guide on this or anything else.

One of the best things I can say about Graham is that he counseled Trump to remain supportive Ukraine, even when Trump wanted to abandon the nation. Graham had been one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters in Washington. He died just hours after returning from Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky. He told reporters in Kyiv on Friday that a bipartisan group of senators had reached an agreement with the White House to impose new sanctions on Russia in an effort to end that country’s long-running war with Ukraine.

I’ve criticized Graham as an opportunist and worse. I remember being impressed with the position he took in 2106, when he was one of the few Republicans to say publicly that Trump was unfit to serve as president. Then, after Trump won the Republican nomination, Graham chose to vote for third-party candidate Evan McMullin rather than Trump. Yet Graham emerged as one of Trump’s key Senate supporters, defending Trump’s conduct and policies. After Trump was accused of inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, Graham argued that Trump should not be impeached.

Where is the line between opportunism and pragmatism? After the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Graham appeared to break with Trump, saying on the Senate floor, “Count me out. Enough is enough.” A few months later, he acknowledged Trump’s continued hold over the Republican Party. “Can we move forward without President Trump? The answer is no,” he said. “I’ve determined we can’t grow without him.”

Graham was a moderate on immigration, and was part of a bipartisan effort in 2013 to overhaul the system that passed the Senate but failed to gain support in the more conservative House. He tried repeatedly to give Dreamers—the immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children—a pathway to citizenship, and almost succeeded during Trump’s first term before hard-liners helped blow up the effort.

I remember how close Graham was to Senator John McCain, one of my personal heroes and among the most principled people ever to serve our nation. Graham often cited McCain as his closest friend and mentor, crediting McCain with teaching him how to learn from failure and the importance of working together across the aisle.

Graham’s 71st birthday was Thursday. Lindsey Graham, R.I.P.

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