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WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) recognized U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) lifetime of public service following his sudden passing this weekend.
“Last week, I joined several of my colleagues from the Senate and the House at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Türkiye… Last Wednesday, we had a dinner hosted by the U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye, Tom Barrack. There must have been 50 or 60 people there, all shared the concerns of the Summit conference,” Durbin said. “At the heart of that dinner was my colleague and friend, Senator Lindsey Graham. When I arrived that night, it was no surprise that he had been there before me and had been working the crowd, speaking to each and every person who was there—business leaders, political leaders, from all parts of the world—about his concerns. Lindsey was walking them through, one at a time, his vision on how we could end the war in Ukraine and the legislation we needed to accomplish that. Typical of Lindsey Graham.”
Durbin continued, “We all share that concern, but he was buzzing around that crowd like an aspiring candidate to convince everybody there was a way to end this war the right way. Only a few days after that dinner, my friend, Lindsey Graham, passed away. It was a shock. I would like to take a moment to recognize his lifetime of public service, both in the state of South Carolina and our nation.”
During his remarks, Durbin spoke about his work with Graham on the Dream Act and comprehensive immigration reform, as well as the confirmation of judges during the Biden Administration.
“I served with Lindsey Graham in the Senate for more than two decades, and during that time, I counted him as a trusted friend,” Durbin said. “Lindsey, for many years, was the only Republican willing to cosponsor the Dream Act, a bill that I introduced over 20 years ago and reintroduced in successive Congresses, providing protection to undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children. His support took guts. At a time when issues surrounding immigration were becoming politically toxic, Lindsey stuck his neck out for me and for these young people. I will never ever forget it.”
Durbin continued, “And I will also never forget a meeting that Lindsey and I had with President Trump in his first term in 2018. It was a meeting to discuss a possible comprehensive immigration reform package. It didn’t go well at all. President Trump made what I consider to be profane comments about some immigrants, and I won’t repeat them here. Lindsey, sitting next to me in the Oval Office, passionately, vocally, and with real commitment disagreed with the President, arguing that America is not defined by race or color, but by its ideals and many contributions that immigrants have made to our nation. He said to the President, as I sat right next to him in the Oval Office, you’re just wrong. These people that are immigrants make a difference in America. It’s the story of our country, and Lindsey said it was the story of his family. Lindsey spoke publicly about this interaction after it occurred. And despite the scorn that he earned from certain segments of the Republican base, he stuck to what he believed was right.”
Durbin continued, “When I [was] … Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lindsey Graham was my Ranking Republican sitting right next to me. We had our share of disagreements on issues and nominees, but I knew that his word was always good… He voted in favor of 75 percent of the judicial nominations that we considered while I was Chair, and there were 235 lifetime appointments that came out of that committee.”
Durbin concluded, “Loretta and I send our condolences to Lindsey’s family and his legion of friends in South Carolina and around the world. He was an extraordinary member of the Senate.”
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
