Lindsey Olin Graham (born July 9, 1955) is an American politician, affiliated to the Republican Party (United States), who serves as the senior United States Senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. Since 2019, he has been the Chair of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
A native of Central, South Carolina, Graham received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1981. Most of his active duty within his span of military service happened from 1982 to 1988 when he served with the Judge Advocate General's Corps in the United States Air Force, as a defense attorney and then with the Air Force's chief prosecutor in Europe based in West Germany. Later his entire service in the Air Force Reserve ran concurrent with his congressional career. He was awarded a Bronze Star Medal in 2014.
Graham worked as a lawyer in private practice before serving one term in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995. His congressional career began when he was elected to the first of four terms to the United States House of Representatives, representing South Carolina's 3rd congressional district from 1995 to 2003. In 2002, Graham won the U.S. Senate election in South Carolina after eight-term Republican incumbent Strom Thurmond announced his retirement. He won a second term in 2008 and a third term in 2014.
A retired U.S. Air Force Reserve colonel, Graham is known in the Senate for his advocacy of a strong national defense[1] and aggressive interventionist foreign policy.[2] He is also known for his willingness to be bipartisan and work with Democrats on issues like campaign finance reform, a ban on waterboarding, immigration reform, and judicial nominees.[3][4][5][6][7][8] He has criticized the Tea Party movement, arguing for a more inclusive Republican Party.[7][9][10][11][12][13]
Graham ran his first and only presidential campaign between June and December 2015, dropping out before the 2016 Republican primaries began.[14][2] He was an outspoken critic of fellow Republican Donald Trump's 2016 candidacy and repeatedly declared he did not support Trump;[15] in particular, he took issue with Trump's comments on Graham's close friend, Senator John McCain.[16] Since March 2017, Graham has reversed his stance on Trump and has become a staunch ally of the president, often issuing public statements in his defense. His reversal caught both parties by surprise and sparked much media attention.[16][17]
