Trump Is Already Using Lindsey Graham’s Death to His Benefit

In a Sunday talk show appearance, President Donald Trump used the death of Senator Lindsey Graham the day prior as a get-out-of-answering-questions-free card.

The weekend saw the unexpected death of the Republican senator at age 71. It also saw the United States and Iran trade fire in the Middle East, reaffirming the apparent collapse of the June memorandum of understanding between the two countries.

When CNN’s State of the Union host Jake Tapper queried Trump about the latter development, the president used the former as an excuse not to answer.

“Are we back at war, and who controls the Strait of the Hormuz?” Tapper asked.

Before he had even finished the question, the president was dodging it: “Well I don’t want to—out of respect for Lindsey, I’m not talking about that. We hit ’em very hard last night, so I don’t want to talk about it, but I will say we hit ’em very hard last night.”

The president went on to allege that Iran’s leaders had been “giving up everything” during talks on Saturday before they turned on a dime, hitting “a ship with a drone.” Such rhetoric is consistent with Trump’s past attempts to portray Iran, despite the evidence to the contrary, as desperate and on the verge of surrender.

“These people, there’s something wrong with them,” Trump said of Iran, “but I’m talking about a man who had nothing wrong with him, and that’s Lindsey Graham.”

Later in the interview, Tapper tried again to get information about the war out of Trump, asking if the Strait of Hormuz is closed as Iran has claimed. But his luck was no better this time, with the president responding, “It’s open as far as we’re concerned. Don’t talk about it. Talk about the reason that you asked me to speak.”

Come Monday morning, Iran and the U.S. were both claiming to be in control of the strait.

The sudden death of Senator Lindsey Graham over the weekend makes things tougher for his fellow Republicans.

Several Senate votes loom in the coming weeks, including the confirmations of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Jay Clayton for director of national intelligence, Erica Schwartz for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Keith Sonderling for secretary of labor, and David Cummins to lead the Transportation Security Administration. On top of that, votes for the National Defense Authorization Act, the main funding bill for the military, are coming up this week.

Graham was also chair of the Senate Budget Committee, and a new reconciliation bill is coming up, with potential tax changes.

“The last time he and I sat down, we talked about doing the third reconciliation bill and having another big tax cut,” said Club for Growth president David McIntosh to Politico. “Lindsey was all for that.”

Other big votes on Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s agenda include a new Russia sanctions bill and an attempt to renew the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. President Trump, meanwhile, is still pushing for his voter suppression bill, the SAVE Act.

Graham also was a key intermediary between the Senate and the White House, and Trump is going to have to find someone new to fill that void who is respected in the chamber. Trump likes Senator Rick Scott, but he isn’t well respected in the chamber, one White House official told Politico, adding that “I could see [Alabama Senator] Katie Britt trying to fill that void.”

A few candidates have popped up to fill Graham’s South Carolina Senate seat, including former Representative Troy Gowdy and the state’s lieutenant governor, Pamela Evette. Gowdy has the support of South Carolina’s other senator, Tim Scott, who has reportedly been making calls around the state on his behalf. Evette is reportedly favored by Governor Henry McMaster, who under state law can appoint a successor to fill out the rest of Graham’s term. A quick primary will be held in the coming weeks to name a new Republican nominee for the November general election.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also emerged as a possible new senator, reportedly receiving calls to put his name forward, and Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, has been brought up by some Republicans. It will be interesting to see whether McMaster goes for a caretaker pick, or a long-term appointment. Trump could also weigh in and endorse a candidate. For now, though, Trump and Thune will want the vote of that immediate appointee as soon as possible.

The Trump administration is planning on building a fleet of government-owned planes specifically to perform 24-7, short-notice deportations as part of its all-out effort to make Trump’s delusions of one million deportations per year a reality.

The Department of Homeland Security is currently looking for a private company to operate a fleet of at least nine large jets both at home and abroad, providing the DHS with pilots, nurses, and security, Bloomberg reports. In addition to last-minute deportations, the planes will also carry the upper echelon of the administration’s staff on diplomatic trips.

Although the government has yet to disclose how much its 24-7 fleet would cost, it spent about $140 million on six Boeing deportation jets last year. And the Federal Aviation Administration has recently noted that multiple jets from Avelo—an aircraft company that has already worked closely with DHS—are now owned by DHS.

The MAGA-verse generally celebrated the news. Owning its own fleet would make it easier for the government to carry out deportations, perhaps the key tenet of the administration’s agenda. Yet the administration is still no closer to reaching its unrealistic goal of one million deportations per year.

DHS estimates that a contract would begin in summer of 2027 and continue through 2032.

Senator Mitch McConnell may be in the hospital for undisclosed reasons, but apparently there’s still work to be done on his house.

TMZ reports that a man carrying carpet samples was spotted leaving McConnell’s residence in Washington, D.C., Friday.

Charlie Cotton, a Washington, D.C. producer for the tabloid website, was at the house to see if he could find any new information about McConnell’s health, which his office has been virtually silent about. He spotted the man with carpet samples and spoke to him off camera. The man said that in addition to new carpet, new tiles were being considered for the home.

Speculation and rumors about McConnell’s condition have spread since his hospitalization June 14, with unconfirmed reports stating that he is brain-dead, while his fellow Republicans claim to have had long conversations with him. Meanwhile, McConnell’s Senate office hasn’t offered any updates on his health, only saying that he is receiving “excellent care.”

Video footage from McConnell’s home taken by a neighbor on the day of McConnell’s hospitalization showed a stretcher being led away by first responders, while police had blocked off the street. The person’s feet didn’t seem to be moving, and according to the neighbor, the first responders weren’t showing any urgency.

McConnell lives at his Washington home with his wife, former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao. Why are they replacing its flooring now, when McConnell is in the hospital? Does this indicate some kind of change in the senator’s condition? Is the family preparing to sell the home? As long as McConnell’s family and staff remain silent, news like this will only increase conspiracy theories and rumors.

President Donald Trump isn’t done transforming one of the nation’s most iconic buildings into an active construction site and expecting Americans to foot the bill.

The front doors of the White House, which face toward Lafayette Park and pedestrian traffic, are currently undergoing security improvements, as repairs are made to the iconic columns on the North Portico, CBS News reported Friday.

On Friday, tarps were spotted on the front of the White House’s North Portico, printed with images of what the structure should look like while renovations carry on underneath.

This is just the most recent renovation project the White House has undertaken without approval from Congress, which is required to approve any construction on federal land. For months, Trump has treated the White House—which belongs to all Americans, not just the president—like one of his gaudy resort properties.

Last month, Trump began construction on a helipad in the South Lawn without any official notice. At the same time, the Trump administration moved to renovate the White House’s South Portico and re-top the driveway.

The White House later demanded the contractor speed up the project’s timeline, adding $875,000 to the already $13 million price tag. The contractor’s documents showed that the company received a last-minute demand to complete construction by mid-September in anticipation of an “upcoming state visit.” The request was made just days after Trump invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit the White House on September 24. The North Portico project is also estimated to be completed around mid-September.

Trump claimed that Sikorsky, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin that builds Marine One helicopters, would cover the cost of a $5 million or $6 million helipad—but it seems likely that American taxpayers will pick up the tab for the rest of his construction.

That wasn’t the first time that the budget for one of the president’s renovations has exploded. Trump originally claimed that his White House ballroom project would only cost $200 million and wouldn’t touch the original building. But Trump then demolished the White House’s East Wing, and the cost of construction ballooned to $300 million, and then $400 million after he decided to tack on extra building. Last month, a bombshell report revealed that taxpayers would actually be responsible for half of a $600 million price tag.

But there’s reason to be concerned about the former slumlord’s various construction projects: Just look at the president’s toxic Reflecting Pool or his crumbling venue for the Fourth of July!