Lindsey Graham Is Bringing Main Character Energy To The Dhs Debate

Lindsey Graham is back right where he likes to be — at the center of the action in Washington.

As the South Carolina Republican gears up to seek a fifth Senate term, he moved diligently in recent weeks to position himself as a key player in the Capitol Hill drama of the moment: the fierce debate over President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.

His rekindled push for a crackdown on so-called “sanctuary cities” that refuse to cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security has given an opportunity to tout his MAGA bona fides and sidle up to Trump.

Quite literally: During an Oval Office bill signing Tuesday, Graham stepped out in front of the Resolute Desk and made a direct presidential appeal as a clutch of House and Senate GOP colleagues looked on.

“I’ve got a better idea — it's your idea,” Graham said, turning to point at Trump. “End sanctuary cities.”

The scene underscored how Graham has cannily maneuvered over the course of a decade from a Never Trump Republican known for his participation in bipartisan immigration talks to an outspoken advocate for hard-line border and enforcement policies — a transformation he referenced at the White House.

“On immigration I know what I’m talking about. I’ve got the scars to prove it,” said Graham, whose past interest in providing a path to legal status for undocumented people once earned him the derisive moniker of “Lindsey Grahamnesty.”

He also has the experience and legislative wherewithal to pull Washington’s attention in his direction. Last week, as a $1.2 trillion spending bill was moving through the Senate and a partial shutdown loomed, Graham threw the brakes on a bipartisan plan to split off and punt DHS funding — keeping his colleagues in session an additional day.

Part of that was about a vendetta over the House’s decision to remove a provision allowing senators to sue the Justice Department over former special counsel Jack Smith’s collection of lawmaker phone data during an investigation into Trump's 2020 election interference. But he also used the hold to promote his sanctuary cities campaign.

He backed down, in part, after winning a commitment for floor votes, including on his proposal to criminally charge state and local officials who don’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement agencies.

That’s a fight likely to pay political dividends back home as he faces reelection — starting with a primary where his token opposition is trying to challenge Graham by playing up his former life as a MAGA skeptic. But some colleagues think there is an even simpler explanation: His innate need to be in the thick of things.

“Lindsey is Lindsey,” said one Republican lawmaker granted anonymity to speak candidly who also acknowledged that Graham is also showing “how close he is to the president.”

The sanctuary cities debate is set to extend for at least another week, and perhaps much longer, thanks to the new Feb. 13 deadline Congress set for DHS funding. Graham is vowing to force a vote next week on his legislation as Republicans face Democratic pressure to put new strictures on agencies like ICE and Border Patrol.

The push appears likely to help leave the funding talks in stalemate, at least for the near future. In the not-so-distant past, however, he was a force for compromise.

During former President Barack Obama’s administration, he was part of the Senate “Gang of Eight” that explored a grand bargain that would pair border security enhancements with a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Even into the first Trump term, he was teaming up with Democrats to help “dreamers” brought into the country as children by undocumented parents.

But Graham has shifted in recent years, as the political winds within the Republican Party on immigration have moved hard right — and Graham has enjoyed his new status as a conservative firebrand after years of having to justify his more centrist immigration stances to South Carolina voters.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the GOP senator’s former partner on multiple immigration bills, acknowledged with a smile Wednesday that Graham has “gone through an evolution” on immigration but declined to comment further.

Some Republicans chalk up Graham’s shift to changing federal immigration policies over the past decade but also the changing political realities for Republicans.

“People change their mind,” said Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who threatened to run a primary against Graham last year before mounting a run for governor. “He'd have to tell you why.”

He has been shielded from more serious political challenges thanks to his close relationship with Trump, who gave his reelection campaign an early endorsement way back in March. Norman and other potentially formidable conservative rivals opted not to run, and his most prominent declared challenger, former Heritage Foundation official Paul Dans, has struggled to gain traction.

Graham has chosen his spots carefully as he curries presidential favor. For instance, he broke with Trump in the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack — declaring “count me out” late that night on the Senate floor. And in 2024, after Graham urged Trump during his reelection campaign to focus on policy, Trump responded that he liked Graham but “I don't care what he says.”

“Lindsey wouldn’t be elected if I didn’t endorse him,” Trump said.

But more recently he has been a leading critic of Smith’s investigation into what led up to the riot, particularly the former special counsel’s decision to subpoena phone records from some Republicans — including his own.

Many of his GOP colleagues now would rather hear Graham talk about his immigration bill — which most Republicans support — than his push to allow government payouts to those targeted by Smith.

Unprompted by a reporter, Norman said about Graham’s provision, “That $500,000 was a little excessive, wouldn’t you say?”

But he shows no sign of dropping the crusade. After POLITICO reported last week that the funding agreement kept the House-passed language, Graham cut a deal with Senate Majority Leader John Thune to allow a vote on a proposal that would expand who can sue beyond just the handful of GOP senators included in his initial proposal.

Graham said he was told that the White House “doesn’t like this,” but added on the Senate floor, “I am close to President Trump. I don't work for him.”

But after a spate of ugly headlines about how the provision would potentially allow senators to enrich themselves, his colleagues are ready for him to drop the issue altogether.

“Senator Graham is right — one senator has a lot of power,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). “If you use it judiciously, you can be productive and make a difference. But if you use it in the heat of the moment, you can make a point that not a damn person is going to remember a month later.”

Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.