GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham rages against Democrats' attempts to 'destroy' Kavanaugh's life


After a long day of holding back barely restrained frustration, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) unloaded on his Democratic colleagues for trying to "destroy this guy's life."
"This guy" — Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh — is the victim of an "unethical sham," according to the Republican senator. Graham spent several minutes pointing at his fellow Senate Judiciary Committee members as he exclaimed about Kavanaugh's treatment.
Kavanaugh testified Thursday to refute claims from Christine Blasey Ford, who says Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers in the 1980s. He was emotional in his "emphatic" denial of any wrongdoing, and Graham sympathized with the turmoil he's suffered in recent days.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Boy y'all want power," said Graham of his Democratic counterparts. "I hope you never get it." He accused them of conspiring with Ford to bring forward false allegations as a way to block Kavanaugh from being confirmed. "God, I hate to say it, because these have been my friends," continued Graham, "but let me tell you, when it comes to this," Kavanaugh "came to the wrong town at the wrong time" for a "fair process." Watch Graham's tirade against "this crap" below, via MSNBC. Summer Meza
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 8, 2025
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - divine retribution, ChatGPT in Congress, and more
-
Titus Andronicus: a 'beautiful, blood-soaked nightmare'
The Week Recommends Max Webster's staging of Shakespeare's tragedy 'glitters with poetic richness'
-
The Alienation Effect: a 'compelling' study of the émigrés who reshaped postwar Britain
The Week Recommends Owen Hatherley's 'monumental' study is brimming with 'extraordinary revelations'
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment
-
Trump judge bars deportations under 1798 law
speed read A Trump appointee has ruled that the president's use of a wartime act for deportations is illegal
-
Trump ousts Waltz as NSA, taps him for UN role
speed read President Donald Trump removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser and nominated him as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
-
Trump blames Biden for tariffs-linked contraction
speed read The US economy shrank 0.3% in the first three months of 2025, the Commerce Department reported
-
Trump says he could bring back Ábrego García but won't
Speed Read At a rally to mark his 100th day in office, the president doubled down on his unpopular immigration and economic policies