Reporter’s Notebook: Sen Lindsey Graham holds up government funding over sanctuary cities vote

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is expected to make a major speech around 11:30 a.m. Friday on why he is holding up the revised government funding package.

Graham told Fox News he would relinquish his grip on the bill if local officials who run sanctuary cities agreed to vote on the bill that would criminalize their conduct.

Graham and other Republican senators believe they have home-field advantage when talking about the causes that led to the border crisis and illegal immigration.

He and other GOPers believe the two-week funding window for DHS gives Republicans an opportunity to push back on the issue.

HOUSE CONSERVATIVES SUSPECT OF SENATE AGREEMENT WITH MORE DHS SPENDING: ‘A Non-Starter’

Second, Graham wants a vote to expand the pool of up to 190 groups or individuals overseen by former Special Counsel Jack Smith and give them the right to sue Smith.

TENSION IS BOILING IN THE PARLIAMENT OVER THE SENATE AGREEMENT TO PREVENT THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN.

Former special counsel Jack Smith testifies at a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 22, 2026. (Al Drago/Getty Images)

A provision that would have given the right to sue some Republican lawmakers whose phone records were targeted by Smith for $500,000 was removed from the minibus spending package by the House of Representatives.

So Graham wants to expand the pool of people who can file a lawsuit for damages. He also wants to restrict investigations from obtaining future phone metadata of members of the House and Senate unless they themselves are facing a criminal investigation. This will prevent future “fishing trips”.

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Graham is prepared to allow the spending package to be brought forward on Friday if his demands are met.