Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan opened her testimony before the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday by offering condolences following the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who died Saturday at age 71 from a ruptured aorta. Kagan spent much of her tribute reflecting on Graham's role in her 2010 Supreme Court confirmation, noting that he was one of only five Senate Republicans to vote in favor of her nomination after she was selected by then-President Barack Obama.
Graham served 23 years in the Senate and eight years in the House of Representatives before his death. His sister, Darline Graham, was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to finish the remainder of his term, which ends in January 2027. The Supreme Court justices were making their first congressional appearance since 2019.
What the Left Is Saying
Democratic lawmakers and progressive advocates have pointed to Kagan's testimony as an illustration of a bygone era in Supreme Court confirmations when cross-party support was more common. Several Democratic senators who served during Graham's tenure noted his willingness to work across the aisle on judicial nominations, though they acknowledged such cooperation has become increasingly rare.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee during Kagan's confirmation, said in a statement that Graham 'understood the court's institutional role in ways that sometimes eluded his colleagues.' The progressive group Fix the Court called attention to data showing that zero Democratic senators voted for any of former President Donald Trump's three Supreme Court nominees: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
What the Right Is Saying
Republican lawmakers have emphasized Graham's fierce advocacy for conservative judicial nominees during his later years in the Senate, particularly his high-profile defense of Brett Kavanaugh during the 2018 confirmation hearings. Trump praised Graham as a senator whose 'Kavanaugh fight changed Supreme Court history,' noting his evolution from bipartisan dealmaker to stalwart conservative on judicial matters.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who served with Graham for over two decades, said in an interview that Graham was 'a champion for the judiciary' in his final years. Conservative commentators have noted that while Graham crossed party lines for Kagan, he became one of the most reliable Republican votes on judicial nominations during Trump's administration and beyond.
What the Numbers Show
Graham was one of five Senate Republicans to vote for Kagan's 2010 confirmation: Olympia Snowe of Maine, Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and independents Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The final vote was 63-37 in her favor.
By contrast, the most recent Supreme Court confirmations have shown complete partisan alignment. Gorsuch was confirmed 54-45 with no Democratic votes; Kavanaugh was confirmed 50-48 with only one Democratic defector; Barrett was confirmed 52-48 without any bipartisan support. The average number of cross-party votes for Supreme Court nominees has declined from approximately 9 per nomination in the 1980s to fewer than 2 since 2015, according to Congressional Research Service data.
The Bottom Line
Kagan's testimony drew attention to how dramatically the politics of Supreme Court confirmations have shifted over the past decade and a half. While Graham's bipartisan support for her nomination was notable in 2010, it has become increasingly rare as confirmation battles have intensified on both sides. Graham himself became a leading conservative voice on judicial nominations during subsequent administrations, making his 2010 vote an outlier in a career that trended sharply toward party-line confirmations. The justices' appearance before Congress marked the court's first such visit since 2019, coming at a time when public confidence in the institution has faced renewed scrutiny.