Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was warned over the weekend to follow the rules of decorum for the Senate after he called Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., "dishonest" during a hearing, The Hill reports.
Hassan last week introduced an amendment to repeal a tax on foreign oil similar to one that Graham had proposed, which Hassan and all 49 other Senate Democrats voted against. The Hill notes that Graham's amendment needed to overcome a 50-vote threshold, meaning that it could have passed with just one Democrat supporting, whereas Hassan's vote needed to pass a 60-vote threshold with support from at least 10 Republicans.
Graham claimed during a hearing on Sunday that Hassan "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."
Graham accused Hassan of being "deceitful," saying "this gives phony and cynical a bad name," and adding, "we're going to call you out."
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., the presiding officer at the time of the exchange, told Graham: "The senators are reminded to address each other through the chair and in the third person."
"And to be mindful of Rule 19," Murphy said, which states that "no senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another senator or to other senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a senator."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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