Lindsey Graham admonished by SEC for requesting campaign donations in federal building

24 March 2023

The Senate Ethics Committee (SEC) has confirmed violations regarding Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-S.C.) on-air request for donations for former Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker's election campaign.

According to NBC News, Democratic Chair Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Republican Vice Chair James Lankford (R-Okla.) said, Graham "violated Senate rules during the Nov. 30 interview when he solicited funds in the rotunda of the Russell Senate Office building."

Campaign solicitation is considered a violation of Senate laws if donations are requested inside a federal building.

Per the news outlet, the committee also noted that "during the roughly nine-minute interview, more than four minutes were devoted to a discussion of the 2022 run-off in Georgia between Walker and Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, with Graham soliciting campaign contributions 'five separate times.'"

In its letter, the committee did admonish the lawmaker but decided against sanctioning him.

“The public must feel confident that Members use public resources only for official actions in the best interests of the United States, not for partisan political activity,” they wrote. “Your actions failed to uphold that standard, resulting in harm to the public trust and confidence in the United States Senate. You are hereby admonished.”

Following the release of the letter, Graham issued a response to the violations and offered a statement of apology for his actions. The Republican lawmaker also vowed to "do better in the future."

“It was a mistake," Graham said in a statement. I take responsibility. I will try to do better in the future.”

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