illustration Anger
Alexander Bolton
The Hill
Tempers flared on the Senate floor Thursday when Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) asked Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to explain why he voted against advancing the border security deal she negotiated and Graham responded by panning it as a “half-ass” effort to secure the border.
Sinema appeared frustrated about Graham’s vote to block the border deal from even coming up for debate on the Senate floor after Graham and his staff played what she called an “integral” role in crafting the bipartisan deal, along with Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).
Sinema challenged Graham to justify his vote to block debate on the bill, which also included other foreign policy spending including aid for Ukraine and Israel.
Graham said the deal Sinema negotiated “did a pretty good job in many ways” but added, “I didn’t think it was enough.”
Sinema then asked why he blocked the bill from even coming to the floor, depriving his colleagues the chance to offer amendments to improve it.
That’s when the fireworks started to fly.
