Graham urges Biden to get involved in border talks, blasts top Dem negotiator

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) heaped criticism on Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Tuesday, saying he has “no confidence” in him to get a palatable border deal and urging President Biden to get directly involved in talks in order to win a deal. 

Following the Senate’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Graham leveled harsh words against Murphy, pressing that as long as he is the lead Democratic negotiator involved in border discussions, there will be no deal that’s sellable to the GOP. He also believes the key to unlock a deal is boosting Biden’s involvement. 

“The key is to get the commander in chief involved in the negotiations. Sen. Murphy — I have no confidence he’s ever going to get a deal we can live with, because he’s worried about selling it to the left,” Graham said. “The commander in chief — if there’s a deal to be made — is going to have to get involved in the negotiations. It’s his job above all others.”

The South Carolina Republican, who has been part of border discussions in recent weeks, also complained that Murphy has been “very unhelpful” and that his “attitude about what’s going on is off base.” 

“We’re not holding the border hostage. We’re trying to protect the American people,” Graham said. 

Murphy declined to comment directly on Graham’s remarks, saying only that, “You’ll have to ask Sen. Graham about that.” 

Murphy and Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) have kept up discussions toward a possible deal, but one does not appear imminent. Lankford told reporters Monday that he did not foresee an agreement being reached before the end of the week, and that because the House is scheduled to adjourn then for the Christmas break, the talks will be kicked into January. 

Discussions in recent days have centered between Lankford, Murphy, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and, most recently, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients. 

“We continue to make progress. We’ve made serious proposals that put us outside of our Democratic comfort zone. We need Republicans to stretch, and if they do, we can get there,” the Connecticut Democrat said. “There’s been significant back-and-forth.” 

Graham’s comments also came after he explained that he asked the final question to Zelensky during his meeting with senators Tuesday morning. As part of that question, Graham told the Ukrainian president that he feared he was being “used” by Democrats. 

“I like him and I admire him,’ Graham told reporters. “I said, ‘You’ve done everything anybody can ask of you. This is not your problem here. You didn’t make this problem. It will affect you and affect the whole world, but policy choices matter.’ 

“They made policy choices for three years to lead to a nightmare on the border. They need to change their policy choices,” he continued.

Graham added that his stance was only bolstered by recent comments made by FBI Director Christopher Wray that he sees “blinking red lights everywhere I turn” that could portend a possible major terror attack in the U.S. 

“I told President Zelensky my No. 1 obligation is to secure my country as well as help yours, and I feel like my country’s border policies are an immediate threat to the safety of the American people,” he said.