In an effort to force asylum seekers away from the southern border, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham is ready to go where he’s never gone before.
He’s breaking with longtime immigration policy collaborators across the aisle. He’s giving up on compromise. And he’s prepared to wield his power to change the very rules past versions of himself have defended.
On Thursday, Graham is poised to waive the rules of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, which he chairs, in order to force a debate on his bill to change asylum laws, which Democrats abhor, as a way to address the migrant crisis at the southern border.
It’s a move that could alienate his Democratic allies — the very ones who helped Graham cultivate his image as a dealmaker whose relationships could transcend the most partisan political moments.
“I told him it is the first immigration bill before the committee in the last six or seven years. It’s the first partisan immigration bill that we’ve ever had, that I know of,” said U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the chamber’s No. 2 Democrat who has worked with Graham on numerous immigration bills over the years.
“I think it’s a terrible mistake that will sharply divide our committee,” said U.S. Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, another Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Graham said he wasn’t concerned about poisoning the well with his approach to the immigration debate.
“I don’t think things can be more poisoned than they are now,” he said of the partisan toxicity in Washington, D.C.Read the rest of the story HERE.
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