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Lindsey Graham knew good from evil — and stood up for America every time

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 “You dumb sonofabitch. You have a perfectly good job and now this?” 

This was the tongue-in-cheek, kind and supportive call I received from Sen. Lindsey Graham when I agreed to be nominated to become America’s 70th Secretary of State. 

That greeting was classic Lindsey — funny and warm, encouraging and humble. He then turned to serious business, adding: “You’ll be great and I’ll be with you every step of the way. We have a lot of work to do.” 

And he was with me. Even when we had different judgments, he always helped me navigate tough problems, whether abroad or in Washington. I later learned that Sen. Graham had been among those who suggested to President Trump that he choose me as secretary of state back in 2018. I will be forever grateful for his advocacy for me and for his essential assistance in the successes we had in that first term.

I first met Sen. Graham when he and Sen. John McCain and Sen. Joe Lieberman were kind enough to include me — a junior backbench congressman from Kansas — on their trip to the Munich Security Conference. 

We spent hours in conversation about American leadership and security. Lindsey shared his experiences freely and welcomed challenges to his........

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