Honor Lindsey Graham’s Final Request: Pass the SAVE America Act

Guest Opinion by Perry Hooper Jr.

In the days since the tragic passing of Senator Lindsey Graham, Americans have heard heartfelt tributes from Republicans and Democrats alike. That is fitting because Lindsey possessed a quality that has become far too rare in Washington: he fought passionately for his convictions without treating those who disagreed with him as enemies. He was a loyal ally of President Donald Trump, but he was also respected across the political aisle. Lindsey proved that friendship did not require surrendering principle and disagreement did not require hatred.

There will be memorial services, speeches and resolutions honoring Lindsey’s remarkable career. Those tributes are deserved, but I believe there is a far more meaningful way for the United States Senate to honor him: finish the work he was pursuing during the final days of his life and pass the SAVE America Act. President Trump revealed that Lindsey called him shortly before his death to discuss the legislation and promised, “We’re going to get it passed.” Even in his final days, Lindsey was focused on protecting the integrity of American elections.

The SAVE America Act rests on a simple principle: only American citizens should decide American elections. Strengthening proof-of-citizenship requirements and protecting voter rolls should not be partisan issues. Every illegal vote diminishes the voice of a lawful American voter. Lindsey Graham believed election integrity was fundamental to preserving confidence in our republic.

He never stopped fighting for that principle. Even after earlier efforts stalled, Lindsey continued searching for a legislative path to get the bill to the President’s desk. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has indicated that Lindsey was working on a strategy that could move the legislation through the Senate using reconciliation if structured properly.

That is why the bipartisan praise flowing toward Lindsey today should be matched by bipartisan action tomorrow. Senator Chuck Schumer and every Democrat who has spoken warmly about Lindsey’s friendship and character now have an opportunity to honor him in a meaningful way. I am not asking them to become Republicans. I am asking them to take seriously the final legislative priority of a colleague they claimed to admire and respect.

Lindsey Graham showed that same courage during the confirmation battle over Justice Brett Kavanaugh. When the nomination appeared to be collapsing under relentless political attacks, Lindsey delivered one of the most powerful speeches ever heard in a Senate hearing room. His defense of fairness and due process changed the momentum of the confirmation fight. I believe his courage helped save Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination and preserve the constitutional majority on the United States Supreme Court.

Now the responsibility belongs to those who served beside him. Senator Thune and the Republican majority should use every lawful parliamentary tool available to pass the SAVE America Act. If reconciliation is the path Lindsey helped identify, then they should use it. Republicans were elected to govern, not to explain why governing is impossible.

To Senator Schumer and every Democrat who called Lindsey Graham a friend, I simply ask this: prove it. Honor him with more than kind words and memorial resolutions. Work with Republicans to ensure that American elections are decided by American citizens.

The greatest memorial Washington could give Lindsey Graham is not another portrait, plaque or building bearing his name. It is completing the mission he left unfinished.

Honor Lindsey Graham’s final request.

Pass the SAVE America Act.

Perry O. Hooper Jr. is a longtime Alabama Republican figure, former Alabama Legislator and Montgomery businessman. He served as Co-Chair of “Alabama Trump Victory” in 2016, and served as an at-large delegate to the Republican National Convention. He is a noted civic leader in Montgomery with deep family roots in Alabama’s legal and political history.

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