Graham blasts Dem for ‘deplorable’ attack on Trump’s chief of staff

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Wednesday castigated a Democratic lawmaker who called chief of staff John Kelly a “disgrace to the uniform.”

Graham said Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) is “very emotional” about immigration reform, but added that his comments about Kelly, a retired Marine general, were out of line.

“What he said about General Kelly is just completely wrong, and quite frankly, deplorable,” Graham said during an interview with Hugh Hewitt.

{mosads}Gutiérrez in a statement Tuesday rebuked President Tump for his decision to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program that lifts the threat of deportation from some immigrants brought illegally to the country as children.

In the statement, Gutiérrez singled out Kelly, calling him a “hypocrite” and a “disgrace to the uniform he used to wear.”

“He has no honor and should be drummed out of the White House along with the white supremacists and those enabling the President’s actions by ‘just following orders,’ ” Gutiérrez said.

Graham said it was clear to him DACA would not meet a “Constitutional test in court.” He added he thinks Trump made a good decision in saying he was going to end the program and give Congress time to come up with a solution.

“So what I would say to Mr. Gutiérrez, sit down with a Republican in the House and try to find a solution instead of slandering General Kelly,” added Graham, a retired member of the Air Force.

The Trump administration announced Tuesday its plans to wind down the Obama-era program that protects from deportation about 800,000 people who were brought to the country legally as minors and sought work permits.

Gutiérrez spoke out strongly against the decision, saying Kelly had backed out of a commitment to protect DACA recipients.

“General Kelly, when he was the head of Homeland Security, lied straight to the faces of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus about preventing the mass deportation of DREAMers,” he said in his statement.

“Now as Chief of Staff, this former general is executing the plan to take away their lifeline and taking steps to criminalize young people who live and work here legally.”