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Senate Convenes Today Amid Mourning For Sen. Lindsey Graham; Trump On Graham: "If I Had Democrat Problems, He Could Solve Them"; Sen. John Thune Reflects On Lindsey Graham's Legacy; Trump: Graham's Sister Should Be Appointed To Finish His Term; Graham Announced Russia Sanctions Bill Deal In Ukraine On Friday. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired July 13, 2026 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[12:00:00]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST, INSIDE POLITICS: The unexpected loss of a political powerhouse is reverberating through the Senate, the White House, and the world's most volatile regions.

I'm Dana Bash. Let's go behind the headlines at Inside Politics.

Today, the Senate will gavel in without one of its most influential members, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. His unexpected death at age 71 leaves colleagues on both sides of the aisle mourning the loss of a dear friend and colleague. It also leaves a major void in the United States Senate in President Trump's inner circle, and in American foreign policy amid extraordinary global turmoil.

Under South Carolina law, Governor Henry McMaster will appoint a temporary successor to fill out his term, which is about five months left. Moments ago, President Trump posted on social media that the governor should choose Senator Graham's sister Darline as interim senator to fill out that term. McMaster will hold a news conference this afternoon to announce his decision.

Joining me now is a group of terrific reporters to talk about everything, and I just want to say that in the next break, we're -- in the next block, we are going to talk about Lindsey Graham's legacy with the Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who is a very, very close friend of Lindsey Graham. In the meantime, we want to talk about how this loss is being felt here in Washington and what happens next.

Manu Raju, you followed him around the hallways. I did many years, for many years, but it stopped in the halls of the Senate about, I don't know five years ago, maybe a little bit more. You took the helm, and you've been doing it even longer before you were at POLITICO. So, you also know him very, very well. Can you talk about his role in the Senate? And is it even possible to describe the void that he leaves?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's really hard to because he was as partisan as it came, as bipartisan as it came. He was in the middle of virtually every big fight in Congress, whether he was fighting with Democrats, whether he was working with Democrats, which is what made him such an instrumental figure in this key moment. Now, the immediate issues about his stepping aside are -- they're big questions. He sits. He had some very powerful positions in the United States Senate. He was shepherding through President Trump's big bill that he wants to try to pass through the Senate before the August recess that includes the president's so-called SAVE America Act. That's a whole separate discussion about whether they can actually do that.

But he was the point person on that, who will take his chairmanship of the Senate Budget Committee. He sits a powerful position on the Senate Judiciary Committee. What will happen to that? There's a big hearing with Todd Blanche this week as attorney general, and there are -- you know, and there's big a Russia sanctions bill that the president that he was working very closely with Democrats on. He was really the person who has kept this front and center in the United States Senate.

So, all these issues, when you lose someone of this magnitude, things change. The dynamics change. The legislative strategy changes, and there were just so few people who could really get in the mix, could cut deals with Democrats, could try to figure out a forge a way forward. You don't have those kind of members that really exist in this chamber anymore.

SHELBY TALCOTT, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I also think one of the questions in the White House right now, besides being sort of aides or personally devastated by this because a lot of them were very close with Lindsey Graham, is how it's going to affect the president's relationship with Congress, because as you said, he was such a key figure with that. And there are other lawmakers who could theoretically fill that role, but it's an open question as to whether they could fill the role to the extent that Lindsey Graham was able to. He was very unique in that regard.

RAJU: He could speak the language of Trump, which was why he was so effective.

BASH: Which he learned. He learned on the golf course. One of the reasons that President Trump liked him so much at the beginning is because he likes good golfers. Graham was a good golfer, and that he -- they would golf a lot, and that's where he would kind of work him over both personally and then politically.

[12:05:00]

I just want to look at some of the -- of the tributes, just as an example of what you said. He was so partisan, but also bipartisan, and somebody who was so well known on the world stage. Chris Coons, the Democratic senator from Delaware, wrote. Of my colleagues, none have been able to frustrate and anger, amuse and engage me in a single conversation the way Lindsey could. We traveled the world together, and while we disagreed fiercely on many policy issues, he was both wonderfully complicated and a positive and tireless partner on the bills we led together.

They had dinner in Turkey, which is where NATO was on Senator Graham's birthday, which was on Thursday, and they were talking about all the things that they could do together. I should say that Senator Coons and others, as we speak, are coordinating the tributes that they're going to give on the Senate floor when they come into session at 3 o'clock.

One other, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wrote. Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that made our world safer. He was here with our people when it was most needed. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel has lost one of its great friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost my beloved friend.

AARON BLAKE, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: I think Lindsey Graham is, in some ways, a throwback to a kind of more standard Republican foreign policy that was very muscular and very much wanted to assert Americans' influence over the over the entire globe. And I think we've actually seen over the last year or so that kind of return with President Trump starting to become more active. Certainly, you know, starting a war in Iran, but also trying to influence things more.

You know, we recently had the White House starting to talk about possibly picking up this Russia sanctions bill that Lindsey Graham has been talking about for a very long time. So, it's going to be really interesting to see whether that kind of an approach persists after Lindsey Graham, or if this is somebody who is really pushing that behind the scenes, and that's really a void that's been created now.

BASH: And it was -- what Senator Graham was doing in Ukraine, literally the day before he passed away. He had just returned and he had a press conference, talking about the fact that he believed that they had a deal with the White House in order to finally put more sanctions on Russia. We'll talk to Senator Thune about that.

RAJU: We heard much from Trump on that.

BASH: In a minute. We haven't. Yeah. Just a little bit of levity because you can't talk about Lindsey Graham without levity. I guess this one starts with levity from Donald Trump, then just private citizen Donald Trump. I remember being in South Carolina. It was the very beginning of the 2016 election, and President Trump -- Donald Trump was in Hilton Head, South Carolina. He was giving a speech, and he said this about the state's home senator, who was also his opponent for the presidency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: He gave me his number, and I found the card. I wrote the number down. I don't know if it's the right number. Let's try it. 202 -- so, I don't know. Give it a shot. Your local politician. You know, he won't fix anything.

(PLAYING VIDEO)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Classic.

BASH: Classic, but he did have a flip phone like forever. It was a new thing.

RAJU: He still did.

BASH: He did, but he actually texted, which was a very new thing. The texting Lindsey Graham was like a -- was a weird thing because he was such a luddite. But the fact that he could find humor in that moment that was his actual phone number that that Donald Trump announced to the world, and I remember going looking at my contacts, going up. That's right. He's going to have to change his phone number now.

RAJU: But I mean, his ability to -- his sense of humor is actually why he had such good relationships. I mean, this is a -- the Senate is a body that is built on good relationships, particularly across the aisle, and he had the ability to connect with members across the aisle because of the way he used humor, and they actually worked with Trump too.

I mean, after that whole episode, of course, we know the evolution of Lindsey Graham. His evolution through his career really kind of tracks the evolution of the GOP in the era of Donald Trump because he learned how to be close with Trump. You don't have to always praise him, but you have to be direct with them. And you know, you pick your fights when you pick your fights with them. You're very transactional relationship with Trump. He learned how to deal with that in a way to make himself effective.

Now, his critics will say he put aside his principles in some ways in order to get things done. But he said, I want to be the person in the room, and to be the person in the room, I have to have a good relationship with the guy who won the presidency. And in that ways, he was an effective member.

BASH: Yeah, that's exactly right. He felt like, if I'm not in the room, I'm not going to have any influence at all. So at least I have to try to make that happen. Everybody, stand by. Up next, I'm going to speak to Senate Majority Leader John Thune about the enormous personal and political loss of his dear friend and colleague, Senator Lindsey Graham. Stay with us.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: More now on the life and legacy of Senator Lindsey Graham. This morning, President Trump called into Fox to remember his friend and ally, and Trump is certainly not known for his bipartisanship, but he recognized Lindsey Graham's ability to reach across the aisle when the president needed him.

[12:15:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP (voiceover): He was amazing, you know, he just didn't stop. And he would be -- he was a worker, he was a total workaholic politician. You know, some people don't call that work. Some people call that a lot of talking. But everybody loved him. He was good on the other side. If I had -- if I had Democrat problems, he could solve them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Joining me now is Senator Graham's longtime friend and colleague, and the Senate Majority Leader John Thune. Thank you so much for joining me, sir. You served with Lindsey Graham for about 30 years. You were elected to the House in 1996. He was finishing his first term. How did your friendship start and what was it like?

SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): I mean, as you know, Dana, you know Lindsey well through years too. There wasn't anybody who was a more colorful character, more passionate about the work that he was involved with but always brought an energy and a sense of enthusiasm that was contagious to anybody that was around him. And you know, in the very first one I was running in 1996, he and a couple of other House members at the time came out to South Dakota to campaign for me out there.

I've had him in South Dakota here in the last couple of years, a couple of different times. And every time he comes, you are -- you know, you're just reminded of what a unique, gifted, and talented individual he was. And you saw that on display whenever he was talking about an issue he cared passionately about, and of course we all know about national security and how the strong voice he presented, his knowledge and experience. He'd been all over the world.

He spoke with great knowledge and perspective, and frankly, just incredible passion for the things that were really important to America's national security interest, not generally here at home, but around the world. And then, of course, in the judiciary, where he was a very strong voice there. The Budget Committee, he was the chairman, and we went through two reconciliation bills in this last year. Lindsey led both of those.

And then obviously he was passionate on other issues, pro-life, for example, simply too. That community had no better friend than Lindsey Graham through the years. So, it's a huge loss for institutionally for the Senate, but it's a huge loss for those of us who knew him well.

BASH: And one of the things you just listed a long list of his sort of policy resume and interests and where he was a leader. But I think one of the things that people who knew him well maybe don't -- who didn't know him well I should say don't understand is how much he used humor to break barriers and to break ice. Can you just share any examples of that or talk about that side of Senator Graham that I'm sure you saw maybe daily?

THUNE: He was -- he was incredibly, as you know, Dana, incredibly witty and sharp. I mean, very, very quick, quick witted, which made him. Any time I tell people, anytime you were putting together a group to have dinner, we were stuck here in the, you know, in Washington. A lot of us, whose families aren't here through the years, would get together, and Lindsey was the first guy you could call because you knew that he would keep the conversation going and interesting, and he used it effectively as a communication tool as well. He was a very gifted communicator in ways that enabled him to tell stories and get a point across, a message across, and because he was so quick, I mean, he had not only sharp wit, but very acute intellectual, and was able to deliver a message. But that was a quality that many of us got the opportunity to observe and share, even more smaller settings as well, where you just had a chance to talk with him either individually or in a small group. Lindsey always was somebody who had a bigger than one personality, and that came across in any setting.

BASH: Yeah. I mean, he grew up literally in a bar that his parents owned, and it was clearly that kind of setting that taught him how to be quick and how to sort of interact with people and read people and figure them out. I know that you and Senator Graham traveled the world together. You were in Baghdad in 2006, along with Susan Collins and Joe Lieberman and John McCain. How did those foreign trips go with Senator Graham and the influence that you think he had from then and then up until now on the world stage?

THUNE: There were very few people that I travel with, Dana, with the exception of John McCain, who had Lindsey legacy sort of gravitas on the world stage because he was out there so often and knew the issue so well, and became a strong advocate for America's national security positions for sure. But also, those of our allies in the world, he was incredibly respected by our allies.

[12:20:00]

And so, when you walked into a room, or you know, even in many cases, and when we travel out there, a (inaudible) base. People knew him. They were familiar with him. He had a -- you know, an experience in the military that gave him a camaraderie, or I should say a connection, if you will to, a lot of people who were serving the country in our military.

But he also had a way of connecting with foreign leaders, and you sit in a room like that with somebody like him, and you knew he was somebody that they were going to listen to. So, it enabled us to get into places. It enabled us to hear from people and to share views with people that otherwise we probably wouldn't have had the chance to do.

BASH: One of the key roles that Senator Graham played over the past, certainly two years, but even going back to President Trump's first term was kind of an interlocutor role between Senate Republicans and your conference broadly and President Trump. I know he wasn't always successful, but he could and did call the president a lot late into the night and get him to listen and understand the Senate point of view. How much did that help you as leader?

THUNE: Well, it was enormously helpful. Lindsey has been, you know, through the years not only a really good friend but a very trusted advisor and somebody whose skill set enabled him to do things just like that. I mean he had a way of talking truth and in a very candid way with leaders and certainly the relationship he has with or with, I should say with President Trump is very unique and they have a way of communicating honestly with each other and then sort of being walk away as friends.

And I think that is a something we're really going to miss because he did -- he was a terrific advocate on behalf of the Senate position, understanding what the president wanted to accomplish, working with him in order to do that, but also being very clear about what is and isn't achievable in the Senate. And that's a -- and his voice is going to be really, really missed in terms of the relationship that some Republicans have with the president and his team because he was so good and so effective at talking to the president and was so respected by the president.

There was something where -- even when that was agreed, he knew -- the president knew that Lindsey had his most interest at heart, and whatever message he was sharing with him was going to be received that way.

BASH: President Trump just posted on Truth Social a few minutes ago that he wants the South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster to appoint Senator Graham's sister Darline to serve as interim senator. I know that that is solely up to the governor, and you don't have a vote, but you do have an opinion. What is your opinion?

THUNE: I spoke to Darline yesterday. I spoke to Governor McMaster yesterday, and they're going to be announcing something later today. And I'll let them -- I'll let the governor make an announcement about that, but that certainly, in my view, makes a lot of sense. I think, in many respects, it would be a way of extending Lindsey's legacy here, and certainly something that -- if that's what they decide end up doing, I think there'd be a lot of support for him.

BASH: Senator Graham worked tirelessly to put together a bipartisan agreement with the president to move ahead with the Russia sanctions package. He was in Ukraine just the day before he passed away. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORMER SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I'm pleased to announce, as of about 30 minutes ago, we've reached agreement with the White House on a version of the Russian sanctions bill that they will support. It means it's going to become law. So. when I get back to Washington, I'm going to go with Senator Blumenthal to the Republican, the Democratic leader, to see if we can find time to move this Russian sanctions package that would give tools to President Trump to help end this war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Mr. Leader, is that still going to happen? Will that package be put up for a vote to put more sanctions on Russia?

THUNE: I certainly hope that we can get there to do that, Dana. I think the White House obviously had been working closely with Lindsey and his team on this. There are Democrats who are involved within it. I think there is a sanctions bill that could get 80 to 90 votes in the Senate. We got to figure out exactly what that is. Lindsey's been in that issue for a long time. It's one of those things he's very passionate about. He wants to see a free and independent Ukraine, as all of us do. And you know, he's a big believer that economic sanctions are a huge tool for the president and his administration for us to achieve that outcome. So, I'm hopeful we can get that done. It's something we've been talking about for a long time. I would say probably it was he, in his last days, the thing that he cared the most about in terms of an accomplishment, and it would certainly be an incredible legacy for him if, in fact, we can find a path forward. It'll take Democrats and Republicans here in the Senate to do that, but I'm hopeful we can make that happen.

[12:25:00]

BASH: Senate Majority Leader John Thune, thank you so much for being on, and we are so sorry for your loss and that of everybody in the Senate, Democrats and Republicans are really mourning the loss of their friend and colleague.

THUNE: A big loss. Thanks, Dana.

BASH: Up next, we've got breaking news on one of the biggest media mergers in history and the people trying to stop it. Stay with us.

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