President Donald Trump's endorsement of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to fill his South Carolina seat permanently caught the GOP flat-footed, as she had only been intended to be a caretaker appointment to serve out the remainder of her brother's term, and it wasn't even clear whether she intended to run for a full term.
Already the president's endorsement was met negatively by a number of MAGA commenters, some of whom hadn't even cared for Graham in the first place and don't see the point of elevating his sister.
According to Punchbowl News, the move isn't terribly popular behind the scenes among Republicans, either.
The president's decision "is puzzling to many Republicans, who feel it’s premature to anoint an untested replacement," said the report by Ally Mutnick and Andrew Desiderio. "Graham has only been in the Senate for a few days and Republicans have, understandably, given her space to grieve her late brother, with whom she was extremely close." Furthermore, she has "little political experience" beyond informally advising her brother on his campaigns.
Moreover, noted the report, "Trump’s pronouncement throws into further chaos what’s already been a rushed and unclear process," as a number of powerhouse politicians in South Carolina, including multiple U.S. representatives, already expressed interest in running.
Complicating that issue was the fact that there is no legal process to replace Reps. William Timmons or Russell Fry on the ballot, both of whom have considered running, which would in theory mean the generally very GOP-favoring seats would be an automatic flip for Democrats.
GOP state legislators have debated coming back to change the law to allow a replacement, but if Trump's endorsement of Graham sticks, "this may be moot now," the report said.
