www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-27 10:41:00
(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham is going to seek a fifth six-year term in 2026.
And on Wednesday night he was given a full endorsement by President Donald Trump.
President Donald Trump
WhiteHouse.org
Graham and Trump, each extremely powerful among conservatives in voting blocs and in Beltway authority, arguably have an on-and-off relationship. The senator, turning 70 in July, was once a presidential candidate and seldom if ever is shy to voice opinion, including when contrary to the president.
Trump, turning 79 in June, may be the most mercurial leader of the free world this generation has experienced. His expectation is loyalty, and few cross him without consequence.
“President Trump’s endorsement means the world to me,” Graham posted to social media late Wednesday night. “I am humbled by his faith in me as a senator and as a friend. On a personal level, I genuinely enjoy our friendship. He’s an awesome golfing buddy, who I have yet to beat. I look forward to being one of the driving forces in the U.S. Senate to enact President Trump’s agenda to make America more prosperous and more secure.”
His post topped the president lauding Graham’s “incredibly hard” work for South Carolina.
“Lindsey has been a wonderful friend to me, and has always been there when I needed him,” Trump’s social media post said. “As the chair of the Senate Budget Committee, Lindsey is fighting tirelessly to grow the economy, lower taxes, and eliminate government waste.
“Lindsey is also relentlessly focused on helping us secure the border, stop migrant crime, strongly support our great military/vets, promote American dominance, defend our always under siege Second Amendment, and ensure peace through strength.”
Graham is chairman of the Budget Committee; member of the Judiciary Committee; and a member with multiple subcommittee assignments on each of the Appropriations Committee, and Environment and Public Works Committee.
In 2016, each made a bid for president and Trump ultimately emerged from a 17-candidate Republican field. Graham’s colorful language – such as calling him a “jackass” – and declaration he wasn’t mentally fit for the position was balanced by Trump calling him a “lightweight” and “idiot.”
Once Trump won, the two patched up and moved forward as allies. Most of the time.
Their list of events since are lengthy, some positive, some not: confirmation of Supreme Court justices; support of a federal abortion ban; support then second thoughts by Trump of endorsing Graham in 2020; Graham testifying as Trump faced litigation; and the events of Jan. 6, 2021, to name a few.
Politicos have speculated that, while the dustups and the alliances are genuine, the two ultimately benefit from each. Graham’s campaign pulled in more than $112.2 million in contributions in 2020.
Graham defeated Democrats Alex Sanders 54%-44% in 2002; Bob Conley 58%-42% in 2008; Brad Hutto 54%-39% in 2014; and Jaime Harrison 54%-44% in 2020.
Twenty months out, the 2026 election card thus far has drawn Republican Mark Lynch; Democrats Catherine Fleming Bruce and Kyle Freeman; and independents Jack Ellison and Reece Wright-McDonald.
SUMMARY: The Carolinas face a weekend of storms, flash flooding, and cooler temperatures. Tomorrow brings a Level 2 flash flood risk with slow-moving, strong, and electrical storms, especially south of Asheville, where temperatures will reach mid-90s with high humidity. Heavy rain will develop in the evening, followed by a significant cooldown. Saturday will be rainy and drizzly but not a washout, with highs dropping to around 76°F. Sunday may be even cooler and wetter, with temperatures in the mid-70s and light rain continuing into Monday. Despite the wet weather, the tropics remain quiet with no expected storms or developments.
Carolinas brace for storms, flash floods, and a weekend cooldown Subscribe to WYFF on YouTube now for more: …
SUMMARY: Kendall Rae Johnson, a 10-year-old USDA-certified farmer from Atlanta, received a surprise full scholarship from South Carolina State University President Alexander Conyers during her visit to the college. Starting gardening at age 3 and becoming the youngest certified farmer nationally, Kendall tends about an acre of fruits and vegetables on family land. Homeschooled by her father, her passion inspired her parents despite their lack of farming experience. The \$83,500 1890 Agriculture Innovation Scholarship covers tuition, fees, and room and board. President Conyers praised her as a driven, focused leader ready for future success at SC State.
The North Carolina House passed a bipartisan mini-budget, sending it to Gov. Josh Stein amid ongoing budget talks stalled over state employee raises and tax cuts. The bill allocates $600 million for Medicaid, $142 million for crop-loss aid, $3 million for more DMV offices, and $6 million for a program at the State Auditor’s office. It includes step raises for some school employees but no broad raises or tax changes. Despite some opposition citing inadequate teacher raises and environmental cuts, the bill passed overwhelmingly and is likely to become law. Separately, a controversial elections bill advancing in committee would tighten voter ID and registration rules, sparking Democratic concerns over complicating voting processes. Lawmakers expect limited legislative activity until a final budget is reached.
by Lucas Thomae, Carolina Public Press July 31, 2025
The North Carolina House of Representatives passed a mini-budget bill Wednesday with significant bipartisan support, sending the temporary spending plan to the desk of Gov. Josh Stein as legislative chamber leaders continue to negotiate over a more comprehensive budget.
Those negotiations between the House and Senate, which have deadlocked this year over raises for state employees and reductions in state income tax, have been “slow go,” according to Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth, a senior chairman of the appropriations committee.
“This plan is a step along the path that ultimately leads us to a final budget,” he told his colleagues on the House floor Wednesday.
Among the most notable allocations in the mini-budget, H.B. 125 is a $600 million rebase for the state’s Medicaid program, $142 million for a crop-loss program, $3 million for additional DMV offices and $6 million for a DOGE-style program at the Office of the State Auditor.
The bill also includes step-increase raises for some public school employees, but it doesn’t go as far as giving across-the-board raises like some representatives have sought.
It also doesn’t address changes to state income tax. Republican leadership in both the House and Senate support decreasing those rates over time, but disagree over how to handle it. Stein and the Office of State Budget and Management have warned that North Carolina is heading for a “fiscal cliff” if the legislature doesn’t pause scheduled tax cuts.
Twenty-five Democrats joined Republicans in passing the mini budget, 91-23. All but two Democrats voted for the legislation in yesterday’s Senate vote.
Lawmakers who voted “no” said that they would have preferred to see better raises for teachers and more funding for disaster relief in the wake of Tropical Depression Chantal. Others took issue with cuts to the Department of Environmental Quality and increased funding for the Republican-led Office of the State Auditor.
Stein, who has repeatedly pressed lawmakers to pass a comprehensive budget, hasn’t yet commented publicly on the bill. The level of Democratic support makes it almost certain that the bill will become law regardless of his approval. Eight of the governor’s vetoes were overturned in Tuesday’s legislative session with the help of a few swing Democrats.
After the mini-budget
Shortly after the passage of the mini-budget, state representatives on the House Judiciary 1 committee met to discuss an omnibus bill that would make several changes to the elections process.
H.B. 958 would require individuals to provide their full Social Security numbers when they register to vote (current process requires just the last four digits), prevent “never residents” from voting in statewide elections, ban ranked-choice voting as well as remove photo ID exceptions for overseas and military voters. It also makes tweaks to various deadlines and processes for vote counting and ballot curing.
While Republicans tout these changes as common-sense reforms, Democrats aren’t so sure.
Rep. Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford, who sits on both the Election Law and Judicial committees, told CPP that “99 percent” of the bill is in response to Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs’ election victory over Jefferson Griffin.
Riggs pulled ahead in that race after a lengthy vote tallying process. Jefferson challenged the result in court, alleging that thousands of Riggs’ voters had been improperly registered, but ultimately lost.
Bill co-sponsor Rep. Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke, claims the purpose of the bill is to bolster election integrity. Harrison sees it as unnecessarily complicating the voting process.
“It’s responding to a problem that doesn’t exist,” she said.
However, Harrison commended Blackwell for negotiating on certain items in the legislation. The version approved in the Judiciary committee Wednesday cut back on a controversial provision that would have allowed the Republican Executive Director of the State Board of Elections to replace up to 25 employees. That number was instead decreased to five.
The new version also pushed some deadlines for curing provisional ballots and tallying absentee ballots.
The Judiciary Committee voted to approve the new version of the bill and referred it to the Rules Committee. Neither Blackwell or House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, have signaled that they’re in a rush to get a floor vote on the bill.
While adjourning Wednesday, Hall said he’s not sure the House will have any voting sessions for the remainder of the year unless more progress is made in terms of a budget. Bills that are less of a priority may need to wait until the short session starts in spring of 2026 to be taken up again.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The content presents a balanced overview of North Carolina’s recent legislative actions, highlighting perspectives from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers without evident favoritism. It covers budget negotiations, disputed tax policies, and electoral reforms, providing quotes and explanations from members of both parties. The article refrains from emotionally charged language or partisan framing, making the report informative and neutral in tone.
