Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) passed away on Saturday, and as the news circulated into the Sunday morning hours, friends and colleagues shared stories about his life and career. One moment stood out above many, however, appearing in dozens of tributes to the South Carolina lawmaker: his passionate and unwavering defense of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Graham was serving as the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman when Kavanaugh was nominated to fill the seat vacated by retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. He presided over the ensuing battle — which played out in a series of ugly and contentious hearings — after Democrats on the committee blindsided everyone with an 11th-hour sexual assault allegation against the nominee.
On September 27, 2018, Graham made it clear that he had had enough.
WATCH:
“Are you aware that at 9:23 on the night of July the 9th, the day you were nominated to the Supreme Court by President Trump, Senator Schumer said 23-minutes after your nomination, ‘I will oppose Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination with everything I have, I have (sic) a bipartisan — and I hope a bipartisan majority will do the same. The stakes are simply too high for anything less.’ Well, if you weren’t aware of it, you are now,” Graham began his questions to Kavanaugh. “Did you meet with Senator Dianne Feinstein on August 20th?”
“I did meet with Senator Feinstein,” Kavanaugh confirmed
“Did you know that her staff had already recommended a lawyer to Dr. Ford?” Graham asked, referencing Kavanaugh’s accuser, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.
“I did not know that,” he replied.
“Did you know that her and her staff had this — allegations for over 20 days?” Graham asked, suggesting that Feinstein had sat on the accusation until she believed it could do the most damage.
Kavanaugh said he had not been aware of that.
Turning to the Democrats on the committee, Graham unloaded both barrels: “If you wanted a FBI investigation, you could have come to us. What you want to do is destroy this guy’s life, hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020. You’ve said that, not me.”
“You’ve got nothing to apologize for,” he said to Kavanaugh.
“When you see Sotomayor and Kagan, tell them that Lindsey said hello because I voted for them,” He turned his attention back to the Democrats. “I would never do to them what you’ve done to this guy. This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics. And if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn’t have done what you’ve done to this guy.”
To Kavanaugh, he asked: “Are you a gang rapist?”
“No.”
“I cannot imagine what you and your family have gone through,” Graham continued.
To the Democrats, he lashed out: “Boy, you all want power. God, I hope you never get it. I hope the American people can see through this sham. That you knew about it and you held it. You had no intention of protecting Dr. Ford; none.”
“She’s as much of a victim as you are. God, I hate to say it because these have been my friends,” he said to Kavanaugh. “But let me tell you, when it comes to this, you’re looking for a fair process? You came to the wrong town at the wrong time, my friend. Do you consider this a job interview? … Do you consider that you’ve been through a job interview?”
“I’ve been through a process of advice and consent under the Constitution, which …” Kavanaugh began, but Graham interrupted.
“Would you say you’ve been through hell?”
“I — I’ve been through hell and then some,” Kavanaugh conceded.
“This is not a job interview,” Graham said. “This is hell.”
“This — this …” Kavanaugh struggled for the right words.
“This is going to destroy the ability of good people to come forward because of this crap. Your high school yearbook — you have interacted with professional women all your life, not one accusation,” Graham continued. “You’re supposed to be Bill Cosby when you’re a junior and senior in high school. And all of a sudden, you got over it. It’s been my understanding that if you drug women and rape them for two years in high school, you probably don’t stop.”
“Here’s my understanding, if you lived a good life people would recognize it, like the American Bar Association has, the gold standard. His integrity is absolutely unquestioned. He is the very circumspect in his personal conduct, harbors no biases or prejudices. He’s entirely ethical, is a really decent person. He is warm, friendly, unassuming. He’s the nicest person — the ABA,” Graham continued. “The one thing I can tell you should be proud of — Ashley, you should be proud of this — that you raised a daughter who had the good character to pray for Dr. Ford.”
Graham then turned his ire on his own party, warning them not to fall prey to the spectacle being put on for them: “To my Republican colleagues, if you vote no, you’re legitimizing the most despicable thing I have seen in my time in politics. You want this seat? I hope you never get it.”
“I hope you’re on the Supreme Court, that’s exactly where you should be,” he said to Kavanaugh. “And I hope that the American people will see through this charade. And I wish you well. And I intend to vote for you and I hope everybody who’s fair-minded will.”
Graham’s position — and his outrage — were abundantly clear, but throughout the process he was still able to keep his legendary sense of humor. During one hallway chat with reporters, for example, a protester interrupted the gaggle and called for Kavanaugh to take a polygraph.
“You’ve humiliated this guy enough, and there seems to be no bottom for some of you,” Graham said of Kavanaugh — and the ongoing witch hunt targeting him — a woman behind him interrupted to demand the Supreme Court nominee take a polygraph.
Without turning to acknowledge her, Graham quipped, “Why don’t we dunk him in water and see if he floats?”
Never forget Lindsey Graham’s amazing sense of humor—during the heated Kavanaugh confirmation fight:
Protester: Kavanaugh should take a polygraph.
Sen. Lindsey Graham: “Why don’t we dunk him in water and see if he floats?” pic.twitter.com/ynTRuOavho
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) July 12, 2026
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