Beloved or not, Lindsey Graham was a critical dealmaker in Congress

Senator played major role in critical negotiations with Democrats and members of his own party on key issues When Democrats and Republicans were earlier this year locked in a standoff that had plunged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into the longest partial government shutdown in US history, news of a path forward emerged in the form of a statement from the Republican senator Lindsey Graham. By announcing that the budget committee he chairs would set to work on a measure to fund the agencies leading Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign for the remainder of his presidency, Graham played a major role in rallying the GOP behind a plan that reopened the DHS. It was a familiar role for Graham, whose office announced he had died on Saturday at the age of 71 after “a brief and sudden illness”. During his 23 years as senator for South Carolina, Graham developed a reputation as a dealmaker, appearing in the midst of critical negotiations with the Democratic opposition and members of his own party. It was a role he continued in the age of Trump, a leader Graham supported even if he had reservations with his approach to foreign policy. “Lindsey was part of every important policy