Less than 72 hours after the sudden passing of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, his sister was sworn in to finish his term.

Darlene Graham Nordone took the oath on Tuesday, saying it’s what her brother would have wanted.

Having served in the Senate for almost two and a half decades, Senator Graham was well-liked by his Republican colleagues, generally well-respected by Democrats, and well-known across the country.

Taking the oath on the Senate floor, Darlene Graham Nordone, the younger sister of Lindsey Graham, officially became his successor. A ceremonial swearing-in followed in the old Senate chamber.

Senator James Lankford (R-OK) prayed for Graham’s family Monday as he remembered his friend.

“He’s a person that loved his body, loved the country, and loved the people of South Carolina. And it showed,” said Lankford.

Senator Alan Armstrong (R-OK), who went through a similar selection and swearing-in process just a few months ago, told Bloomberg TV he had come to respect Graham during their brief overlap.

“People knew him for somebody that would speak his mind and was clear and convincing in his argument,” said Armstrong.

As a strong backer of Ukraine, one of Graham’s final acts was to get White House backing for a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill.

• South Carolina is operating under a temporary spending measure as lawmakers have not finalized the state budget.
• A legislative committee is stalled over disagreements on property tax relief and specific project funding known as earmarks.
• Without a new budget, planned raises for state employees and teachers cannot be allocated.
• Lawmakers are considering three options, including operating on the temporary measure for another year.

South Carolina has been operating under a temporary spending measure for the past two weeks after a small committee of House and Senate members has yet to finalize the budget.

After another day of stalled discussions, Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, said lawmakers have three options to keep the government funded. One of those options is operating under a continuing resolution, a temporary funding measure that keeps state agency funding the same as the previous financial year, until next year.

The General Assembly’s budget conference committee, a six-member group — three each from the House and Senate — met for a brief budget discussion on July 14. The committee decided quickly to adjourn until 2 p.m. on July 15 after failing to make progress on a spending plan.

Conference committee members are struggling to come to an agreement on property tax relief and earmarks, which are budget allocations set aside for specific projects. The committee most recently met on June 30, the day before fiscal year 2027 was set to start, and decided to push its next meeting out two weeks to give staff the time to collect information on the main differences between the Senate and House budgets.

More: SC lawmakers miss budget deadline over property tax relief, project funds

The committee reconvened on July 14, facing the same challenges as it did during the meeting in late June. Though the legislature has not finalized a budget for fiscal year 2027, state agencies are being funded at last year’s levels due to a continuing resolution.

However, the state will not be able to allocate funds for state employee raises and teacher salary bumps if lawmakers don’t pass a new budget.

“It’s important for the people of South Carolina to remember that government is open,” Davis said. “This is not a situation like in Washington, D.C. where state government is shutting down.”

Davis told his fellow committee members that he thinks they have three options: keep operating under a continuing resolution for the next year, pass a budget without property tax cuts or earmarks, or decide which earmarks can be removed to include some measure of property tax relief.

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