South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham stepped way over the line during debate Sunday on amendments to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and he quickly got put in his place for his remarks.
HuffPost notes that Graham attacked Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH):
Graham directly addressed Hassan, calling her actions “deceitful” and “dishonest,” during a debate on repealing a tax on foreign oil.
“This gives phony and cynical a bad name,” Graham snapped in a video shared by Forbes. They wouldn’t let you do this in professional wrestling. If you think people are this dumb, you are gonna be sadly mistaken.”
That led Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who was presiding over the Senate at the time, to admonish Graham for attacking the motives of a fellow senator and directly addressing Hassan instead of through the chair, which is Senate procedure.
What got Graham so agitated? Of all things, a tax on foreign oil, which Graham wanted removed. Instead, it was defeated soundly, which led the South Carolinian to squawk:
“What she’s doing is trying to strike the provisions that she just voted against but it requires 60 votes So she can vote for repealing a gas tax she just voted against so she’ll look good for the voters. If you really wanted to repeal the gas tax, the new one indexed to inflation, you should have voted for my amendment.
“What you’re doing is deceitful, it’s dishonest, and we’re gonna call you out!”
Murphy told Graham:
“The senators are reminded to address each other through the chair and in the third person.”
After being called out, The Hill notes, Graham “settled down.”
Here’s the video courtesy of Forbes:
