Sen. Darline Graham Nordone (R-SC) backed President Donald Trump’s idea of terminating the filibuster during a lively South Carolina Senate debate on Monday evening.
Nordone’s opinion on the Senate procedural rule marks the latest way she has sided with Trump after he endorsed her for a full term in the U.S. Senate. By supporting Trump’s quest to nuke the filibuster, Nordone is also breaking with the views of her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, who consistently opposed bipartisan efforts to eliminate the rule requiring 60 votes to advance most bills.
Her latest break from her brother’s stance came on Monday evening, during a GOP debate in the race to fill Graham’s vacant spot on the November ballot. Nordone, who was sworn in to fill the remainder of Graham’s unexpired term until Jan. 2027, will take on Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC), businessman Mark Lynch, and former Gov. Mark Sanford in the Aug. 11 special primary election.
The five candidates debated several topics on Monday, ranging from the filibuster to the war in Iran to the SAVE America Act. Though several of the candidates supported filibuster reform, it was during a conversation about the SAVE America Act that Nordone put her foot down on eliminating the filibuster entirely.
“I am all for — this is where I differ from my brother — getting rid of the filibuster to get this done, because eventually the Democrats are going to get rid of it anyway,” Nordone said.
Nordone has championed several of Trump’s ideas to pass the SAVE America Act however the Senate can, including by canceling the upper chamber’s summer recess to do so. Along with 13 other senators, Nordone made her stance clear in late July that she supports holding the chamber through August until the senators can pass the election-integrity legislation, which Trump has made a key part of his agenda.
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Graham had supported keeping the filibuster as is during his time in the Senate, touting during President Joe Biden’s administration that he had not flip-flopped on the procedural matter based on who was president.
“I remember when Republicans controlled the White House, the House, and the Senate, and were being urged by President Trump to change the filibuster. Many people in our base supported changing Senate rules to pass our dream agenda. I also remember signing a letter with thirty-two Democrats pledging to keep the legislative filibuster in place to make sure the Senate stays the Senate. Those same Democrats, except for two, appear willing to blow up the Senate,” Graham has said in a 2022 statement on the rule.