Senate Republicans returned to Washington on Monday with an uncertain agenda after the sudden death of prominent Republican Lindsey Graham, a committee chairman and key player who served as a crucial ally with President Donald Trump.
Graham, 71, died Saturday evening after a tear in his aorta, according to a statement from his office on Sunday.
The shocking news came after another prominent Republican senator, former Republican leader Mitch McConnell, has been hospitalized for almost a month.
McConnell broke a weekslong silence about his health Sunday evening, saying that he was still recovering after suffering from pneumonia and falling in his home.
The continued absence of McConnell, R-Ky., and the surprise death of the South Carolina senator have shaken Republicans who were already at odds with Trump and stalled on several priorities as they return from a two-week recess.
Tthe reduced Republican numbers in the 53-47 Senate are sure to add confusion to what was already expected to be a chaotic and difficult few months before the November midterm elections.
Despite consolidated power in Washington, Republicans have been unable to get much done as the Senate, House and White House have disagreed on legislative priorities and as Trump has criticized Senate Republicans, in particular, for not passing his legislation to require proof of citizenship for voters.
Graham, who was one of Trump’s closest friends in the Senate, often served as a pivotal intermediary.
The Senate left town two weeks ago after a rough few weeks for Republicans.
Trump blocked the Senate from confirming one of his own nominees, asked them to fund parts of his White House ballroom project despite opposition and forced them to defend the Iran war even as they questioned the strategy and endgame.
He also refused to sign a bipartisan, election-year housing bill that had the support of large bipartisan majorities in both chambers, arguing that they should pass his bill to require proof of citizenship, the SAVE America Act, instead. The bill became law on Friday at midnight after he declined to sign it but did not veto it.
The alliance between Trump and Senate Republicans has also been weakened after the president endorsed the opponents of two Republican incumbent senators who had been reliable votes, Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy.
Cassidy challenged Trump directly on the Iran war in a Capitol meeting between Trump and Republicans just before they left town that did not go well.
Republicans return to a number of important agenda items, including the confirmation of Trump’s pick for attorney general, Todd Blanche, and the confirmation of Jay Clayton, who Trump selected to be director of national intelligence and later temporarily blocked.
They also must find a way to navigate Democratic opposition and Trump’s continued ire to keep the government open and prevent a government shutdown, again.
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