Reporter’s Notebook: Senate funding deal hits snag as Graham presses sanctuary city vote

Expect a major floor speech by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., around 11:30 a.m. ET Friday about why he’s holding up the revised government funding package.

Graham tells Fox News he will lift his hold on the bill if he gets an agreement to have a vote on his bill to criminalize the conduct of local officials who operate sanctuary cities.

Graham and other Republican senators believe they have the home field advantage when they talk 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 the opportunity to reclaim the issue.

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DHS Secretary Kristi Noem speaks from a podium as assembled DHS staff watch. (Al Drago/Getty Images)

Secondly, Graham wants a vote to expand the pool of up to 190 groups or individuals who were surveilled by former Special Counsel Jack Smith to give them the right to sue Smith.

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

A provision giving certain Republican lawmakers whose phone records were targeted by Smith the right to sue for $500,000 was stripped from the minibus spending package by the House. 

So Graham wants to broaden the pool of those who can sue for damages. He also wants to restrict investigations from acquiring future telephonic metadata of House and Senate members, unless they are facing a criminal investigation themselves. This would bar future “fishing expeditions.”

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Graham is willing to allow the spending package to go forward Friday if his demands are met.