{"id":511985,"date":"2022-11-18T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/mcconnell-graham-tensions-boil-over-the-hill\/"},"modified":"2022-11-18T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-11-18T11:00:00","slug":"mcconnell-graham-tensions-boil-over-the-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mcconnell-graham-tensions-boil-over-the-hill\/","title":{"rendered":"#McConnell-Graham tensions boil over | The Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a24bfa14a1e7\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a24bfa14a1e7\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mcconnell-graham-tensions-boil-over-the-hill\/#McConnell-Graham_tensions_boil_over_The_Hill\" >McConnell-Graham tensions boil over | The Hill<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"McConnell-Graham_tensions_boil_over_The_Hill\"><\/span>McConnell-Graham tensions boil over | The Hill<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/mcconnellmitch_grahamlindsey_072022gn_w.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>This week\u2019s bruising leadership fight in the Senate exposed simmering tension between Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), former President Trump\u2019s closest ally in the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>Graham, one of the Senate\u2019s highest-profile Republicans, sharply criticized McConnell\u2019s leadership of the Senate GOP conference during a private meeting this week. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>He then told reporters that he voted to elect Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.) as Senate Republican leader because he thought a change was needed. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That earned Graham a sharp rebuke on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a> Wednesday evening from Josh Holmes, McConnell\u2019s former chief of staff and campaign manager, which some Republican senators saw as punishment for Graham criticizing McConnell\u2019s leadership strategy during the lengthy private meeting at which Republican senators discussed why they fell short of expectations in the midterm election. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And several GOP lawmakers and aides saw it as a sign that senators who challenged and criticized McConnell this week face potential repercussions from the leader\u2019s powerful political network.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Holmes, in his tweets, essentially accused Graham of flip-flopping on immigration reform, a potent issue for many GOP voters. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Graham is positioning himself as a hard-liner on a possible immigration deal in the lame-duck Congress, declaring to Fox <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a>: \u201cThere will be no deal on immigration until we secure the border.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>But Holmes, whose firm Calvary LLC receives money from McConnell\u2019s Senate campaign committee, pointed out that Graham was a leading proponent and coauthor of the comprehensive immigration reform bill the Senate passed in 2013, which provided a pathway to citizenship for 11 million immigrants lacking permanent legal status. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThis dude literally spent the first half of his career championing amnesty,\u201d Holmes wrote above a retweet of a Fox News graphic of Graham talking tough on immigration reform along with the caption \u201cStrong as hell.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Holmes said he doesn\u2019t speak for McConnell but pointed out that McConnell voted along with most Senate Republicans against the 2013 immigration bill, which conservative critics panned as \u201camnesty.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t speak for the leader but I do know he supports all his members. I also know that he is adamantly opposed to amnesty so that may be a difference of opinion on that particular issue.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>McConnell\u2019s allies within the Republican conference point out that Graham has evolved in other ways, such as how he views Trump. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Graham famously warned his party in May of 2016: \u201cIf we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed \u2026 and we will deserve it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But he swiftly maneuvered to become one of Trump\u2019s closest allies after he was elected president. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>He explained his shift to Politico this way: \u201cIf you know anything about me, it\u2019d be odd for me not to do this \u2026 This is to try to be relevant.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>McConnell insisted Wednesday afternoon that he wasn\u2019t angry at Scott or his backers. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t own this job,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not in any way offended by having an opponent or having a few votes in opposition.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Senators say Graham delivered an \u201cimpassioned critique\u201d or even an \u201cindictment\u201d about what he characterized as \u201cleadership\u2019s failure to listen to voters.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe thinks that the leadership and its agenda are not doing anything that actually <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>eals to our voters and reaches out to independents,\u201d said one person familiar with the conversation, who described Graham as directly critical of McConnell. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Republican senators confirmed that Graham delivered a blunt and forceful critique of McConnell\u2019s leadership behind closed doors but questioned whether it changed anyone\u2019s mind in the room. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLindsey\u2019s always outspoken. It doesn\u2019t change whether you\u2019re outside of the conference or inside the conference. He\u2019s straightforward. There\u2019s never a time in which you wonder where Lindsey stands on something,\u201d said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverybody had a chance a chance to air their concerns but I don\u2019t think any minds were really changed,\u201d he added.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The South Carolina senator told reporters Wednesday that he thinks there needs to be \u201cchange\u201d atop the Republican leadership but didn\u2019t feel any personal misgivings against McConnell. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cI voted for change, I voted for Rick. Nothing against Mitch, I just think we need change,\u201d he told The Hill. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But some Republican colleagues thought that Graham was acting on Trump\u2019s behalf by attacking McConnell directly in front of the rest of the conference. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Asked why Graham had criticized McConnell\u2019s leadership so harshly, one GOP senator responded simply: \u201cTrump, I assume.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>CNN reported last week that Trump was trying to turn Republican anger over the failure to capture the Senate against McConnell by reaching out to allies, elected officials and incoming members of Congress. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Graham is one of Trump\u2019s closest confidants on the Hill. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>His attack on McConnell\u2019s leadership acumen this week behind closed doors reminded Senate colleagues of his outspoken criticism he directed at McConnell in December, when McConnell negotiated a deal to allow Democrats to raise the debt ceiling.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>McConnell helped craft a deal to allow debt limit legislation to circumvent a Senate filibuster because he wanted to claim that Democrats would bear sole responsibility for expanding the nation\u2019s borrowing authority.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But Graham criticized McConnell for asking Republicans to vote for the measure that created a special pathway to raise the debt limit without having to overcome a filibuster after insisting for months that Democrats would have to do it entirely by themselves through the budget reconciliation process. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Democrats instead used the budget reconciliation process in August to increase corporate taxes and enact new spending to fight climate change. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat I\u2019m worried about is that for four months the Republican Senate said we would not lift a finger to help the Democrats raise the debt ceiling. We would make them use reconciliation,\u201d Graham told \u201cFox News Sunday\u201d host Chris Wallace in December.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the end, we did not make them use reconciliation, which changed the rules of the Senate in a House bill. I don\u2019t like that a lot,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we did is promised one thing and delivered another.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Graham was even more critical of McConnell during a private Republican conference meeting when he accused his leader of leaving Republicans exposed to attacks on the issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe told colleagues that McConnell had \u201cled them on a charge up a hill and they were getting shot in the back,\u201d one GOP senator told The Hill at the time. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Graham warned colleagues that Trump would come down hard on any GOP senators who voted for the special pathway to raise the debt limit. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He warned that Trump \u201cis going to be engaged on this issue.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>True to Graham\u2019s warning, Trump later lashed out at McConnell over the deal, declaring he \u201cconceded, for absolutely nothing and for no reason, the powerful debt ceiling negotiating block, which was the Republicans\u2019 first-class ticket for victory over the Democrats.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Scott sided with Graham and Trump in opposing the debt limit deal. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s really frustrating. Democrats want to go spend all this money, but they don\u2019t want the responsibility to raise the debt ceiling. I don\u2019t actually believe we ought to raise the debt ceiling. I think we ought to figure out how to live within our means,\u201d Scott said at the time. \u00a0\n<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/3741014-mcconnell-graham-tensions-boil-over\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>McConnell-Graham tensions boil over | The Hill This week\u2019s bruising leadership fight in the Senate exposed simmering tension between Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), former President Trump\u2019s closest ally in the Senate. Graham, one of the Senate\u2019s highest-profile Republicans, sharply criticized McConnell\u2019s leadership of the Senate GOP conference during&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":511986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/mcconnellmitch_grahamlindsey_072022gn_w.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134344,134343,4973,33487,135811,71671,41445,134351,115,134438,135812],"class_list":["post-511985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-administration","tag-campaign","tag-china","tag-immigration","tag-josh-holmes","tag-lindsey-graham","tag-mitch-mcconnell","tag-morning-report","tag-news","tag-prevention-cures","tag-senate-gop"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}