Stephen Miller, a policy advisor for the White House, paid tribute to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, on Monday afternoon, calling him a personal “friend.”
“Lindsey was of a mold that I don’t think we’re going to see for a very long time,” Miller said.
“He was someone who really understood how the power of rhetoric, how the power of communication as a senator can actually change outcomes.”
“Lindsey really believed you could change people’s minds through the force and persuasion of his rhetoric.”
Miller, like many members of the Trump administration, continues to reel from Graham’s sudden death late on Saturday evening, paying homage to a key ally in the Senate.
His remarks reveal a closer relationship between the two than has previously been reported.
“Lindsey, I miss you, Godspeed and I’ll see you on the other side,” Miller said.
While Graham and President Donald Trump had an up-and-down relationship before and after Trump’s first term, Graham was also a close friend to the president and highly influential on domestic and foreign policy.
Graham consistently urged the US to assume a leadership role in the international community, arguing the world was safer and more stable with American engagement.
“Lindsey was the most effective, consistent advocate for the president’s agenda in the Senate,” Miller said.
“That is a historical legacy that will always belong to him.”
Miller added a few other details about their relationship, expressing gratitude for Graham’s readiness to work with the administration.
“Lindsay was just so fundamentally good to us, to all of us. Every time we needed everything and anything at all, we called Lindsay. Without question, without hesitation, he would help out. I think it’s important for people to see the fullness of the picture of Lindsey Graham, why people liked him as much as they did, because he was so generous in heart and in spirit,” Miller said.
Lindsey Graham’s office released a preliminary cause of death on Sunday evening that found the longtime lawmaker had died from “aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.”
Aortic dissection is when a tear occurs in the inner wall of the aorta, the body’s main artery, and is a life-threatening medical emergency.
On Monday, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to serve out the remainder of his term with Trump’s blessing.
It’s unclear if Darline would consider running for a full six-year term.
Reps. Nancy Mace, R-SC, and Ralph Norman, R-SC, are both rumored to be eyeing the seat and possible bids for the GOP nomination in the forthcoming special election.
According to South Carolina State law, Republicans will have to hold a primary election on Aug. 11.
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