Graham says McConnell must make amends with Trump to be Republican leader

Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) said late Wednesday that he would only vote for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to lead the Republican Party in the upper chamber if he proves he can work effectively with former President Trump. 

“If you want to be a Republican leader in the House or the Senate, you have to have a working relationship with President Donald Trump. He’s the most consequential Republican since Ronald Reagan,” Graham, a close ally of Trump’s, said on Fox News’s “Hannity.” “It’s his nomination if he wants it, and I think he’ll get reelected in 2024.”

“I like Sen. McConnell,” Graham added. “Can Sen. McConnell effectively work with the leader of the Republican Party, Donald Trump? I’m not going to vote for anybody that can’t have a working relationship with President Trump.”

“If you can’t do that, you will fail,” Graham also said.

Earlier this week, McConnell announced that he would run for another term as the top Republican in the Senate.

“I’m going to be running again for leader later this year,” he said on Tuesday. 

The Kentucky Republican’s announcement came despite pressure from Trump for him to step down, especially after McConnell blamed the former president for inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

McConnell’s vote for the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and a proposal allowing Democrats to raise the debt ceiling with a simple majority vote also sparked criticism from the former president.