Sen. Lindsey Graham earlier this year vowed that “immigration Lindsey” would make an appearance in the chamber — a reference to his bipartisan work on reforming the nation’s immigration laws.
But on Thursday, Senate Democrats cried foul on Graham’s promise of bipartisanship after an ugly fight broke out in the Judiciary Committee over a bill aimed at changing asylum laws. Democrats accused Graham of altering rules in order to advance the South Carolina senator’s asylum bill — legislation Democrats argue doesn’t go far enough to help asylum-seekers.
“I would love to see a more bipartisan Lindsey Graham emerge as chair of the Committee,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), a member of the Judiciary Committee.
But Graham, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, defended his leadership decisions and accused Democrats of restricting his ability to head the panel by intentionally stalling committee work. Graham refused to back down from his decision to move forward on his legislation, arguing that Democrats left him with no other choice and that the committee needed to remain relevant on the issue.
“I’ll blame me if nobody else but I am not going to stop the process. It is now time for us to move forward,” he said.
The tension highlights the broader challenges the Senate faces in getting any kind of substantive immigration legislation through, especially as the U.S. faces a humanitarian crisis along its southern border. Graham has long worked across the aisle on immigration reform, including as a member of the bipartisan Gang of Eight, which pushed in 2013 for substantial reforms to the nation’s immigration laws.
“I still look forward to working with him on a bipartisan basis but the opportunities are fewer and his political approach is more strident now that he is up for reelection in South Carolina,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a member of the Judiciary Committee.
Graham had earlier attempted to work with Durbin to reach an agreement on asylum reform. But those talks broke down in recent weeks over the Flores settlement agreement, a court decision that requires federal authorities to release children from custody after 20 days of detention.
Graham’s bill would increase the time children can be detained and would require individuals to apply for asylum from their home countries or Mexico – measures intended to address the flow of migrants at the border. Graham has said that his bill has White House support.
Senate Democrats, however, slammed Graham for making a procedural change to committee rules to get his bill approved before the Senate leaves for the month-long August recess. They questioned why the rules change was necessary given that his bill wouldn’t pass the Democrat-controlled House.
“This will be a new precedent that will denigrate this committee and the institution of the Senate,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif), the top Democrat on the committee “This is not the Senate I joined in 1993.”
Graham argued that the rules change was necessary, saying Democrats brought the change upon themselves by not showing up to a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting last week, denying him a quorum and impeding the committee’s ability to function.
“You are not going to take my job away from me,” Graham said. “I take this very personally. I’ve tried my best to find a compromise.”
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) responded that he was absent last week because he attended a funeral and noted the absence of Republicans as well.
“I hope that they weren’t at a funeral too,” he said.
The anger surrounding the procedural change only contributes to ongoing tension between Senate Democrats and Republicans over committee procedures. It’s not the first time Democrats have argued Graham has violated the traditions of the Judiciary Committee. They’ve also criticized the disappearance of the so-called blue slip process for circuit judges, whereby home state senators have veto authority over White House picks. Graham’s predecessor, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) also scrapped the blue slip process for circuit judges.
Sen. Chris Coons, (D-Dela), acknowledged Graham’s bipartisan immigration record and noted that “he’s under a great deal of pressure.” But he said that the change will not have “a positive outcome on the mood and structure of the Committee.”
But Graham had strong backing from his Republican colleagues, who said that Democrats were to blame for Thursday’s outcome.
“I think that that tradition got broken when they failed to come to the table and work with him. He tried and delayed the hearing with a sincere attempt to get people to talk,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) “They’re not willing to talk.”
Following the committee’s approval of his bill, Graham acknowledged that he did not expect the legislation to become law. He added that he would continue to work with Democrats on the issue and remained optimistic that they would at some point find bipartisan agreement.
“I’m hoping that Sen. Schumer and President Trump can sit down with us,” Graham said. “Bipartisanship is going to be required eventually and maybe, maybe we can get there.”
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine
Source: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/01/senate-democrats-lindsey-graham-1444383
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The Article Was Written/Published By: mlevine@politico.com (Marianne LeVine)
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