Lindsey Graham breaks rules to ram through bill to detain kids for 100 days

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) made a last-minute change to Senate rules Thursday so he could push through legislation harmful to migrant children.

Graham, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, authored legislation that would allow the government to detain migrant children for as long as 100 days, up from the current 20-day limit. The bill would also impose greater restrictions on asylum-seekers.

Graham is a close Trump ally and golf buddy, and the detention policy would aid Trump in his ongoing attacks on migrant families.

During a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Graham suddenly changed established procedure and prevented Democratic members from influencing or stopping passage of his pet project.

After making the change, Graham and his fellow Republicans on the committee advanced the initiative to the next phase and put one more strike against desperate families closer to becoming American law.

“I’ve tried my best to find a compromise,” Graham said, even as he pushed through his one-sided approach to the issue that will affect hundreds of thousands of people and their families.

Democrats in the Senate slammed his actions and pointed out the harm he is supporting.

“This will be a new precedent that will denigrate this committee and the institution of the Senate,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the highest-ranking Democrat on the Republican-dominated committee.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also slammed Graham’s maneuvering.

Graham and his fellow Republicans were guilty of “breaking their committee rules to jam through a partisan bill that would allow children, young children in cages for a longer period of time,” he said in a statement.

Republicans, led by Trump, have made cruelty to migrants an integral part of the party’s political agenda. Changing Senate rules while spouting claims of bipartisanship as he continued that crusade was Graham’s contribution to the effort this week.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.