5 Ways Lindsay Graham Impacted American Finances Over His Years in Office
The sudden and unexpected death of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on July 11 sent shock waves throughout the nation’s capital and raised questions about what it means for President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Graham, a South Carolina Republican, died at 71 of an aortic dissection. He’d served in the Senate since 2003 after serving in the U.S. House for nearly a decade, according to a bio on his Senate website.
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Although Graham was a fierce critic of Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign – calling the future president “unfit for office” – he later became one of Trump’s strongest advocates in Congress.
Here are five ways Graham impacted American finances as an elected official, including during the two Trump terms.
Corporate Tax Cuts
Graham was a major supporter of corporate tax cuts over the last decade, Business Insider reported. That support included helping Congress pass Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which lowered the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%.
The impact of corporate tax cuts on the finances of the average American is up for debate. Supporters (including Graham) saw corporate tax cuts as a way to promote business investment and create jobs.
However, a 2018 report from Harvard Business School found that corporate tax cuts don’t typically increase middle class incomes. Instead, they often widen the income gap “between those at the top of the pay scale and those at the bottom, and they don’t help workers earning less than $200,000 a year.”
Minimum Wage
Graham landed somewhere in the middle when it came to raising the federal minimum wage. In 2017 he proposed tying any minimum wage hike to a tax overhaul package, Roll Call reported. So, he wasn’t necessarily opposed to a higher minimum wage.
However, in 2021 Graham cheered a decision by Nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough that prevented Democrats from including a $15 per hour minimum wage in their $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package, CNBC reported.
Tariffs/Inflation
Graham has long supported tariffs as a way of punishing countries he believed benefited from unfair trade policies. As far back as 2005 he called for “aggressive tariffs” against China for “manipulating currency and stealing intellectual property,” Business Insider reported.
His support extended to some of Trump’s tariffs, which many economists say have contributed to higher inflation.
At the same time, Graham opposed the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) signed into law by then-President Joe Biden. That law aimed to lower inflation and reduced the national deficit. While inflation did fall considerably during Biden’s last two years in office, there’s little consensus on how much impact the IRA had.
Balanced Budget
In a 2022 press release, Graham voiced support for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution while also acknowledging that such an amendment was a long shot.
Theoretically, a balanced budget would improve Americans’ finances by slowing the national debt and preventing the need for tax increases.
But according to critics, Graham’s public support for a balanced budget did not square with his record as a lawmaker.
The Cato Institute, a conservative think tank, pointed to Graham’s support of a 2025 budget resolution in his capacity as Senate Budget Committee Chairman. The resolution aimed to “establish a responsible fiscal framework” as the national deficit approached $2 trillion.
Instead, the plan was a “far cry from that ideal” and “[set] the stage for $342 billion in new spending over four years, supposedly to be offset by unnamed spending cuts,” the Cato Institute noted.
Defense Spending
Graham was a major advocate of higher defense and military spending. His stance likely improved the finances of defense/aerospace firms and their employees, as well as communities that benefit from investments in defense production and military installations.
Heavy defense spending is also a major contributor to the national debt and deficit. A proposal by Trump earlier this year to increase the military budget by $1.5 trillion – which Graham supported – would have added $5.8 trillion to the nation’s debt over a decade, according to an analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Budget.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice.
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