Graham's crusade: More bombs, more bucks
Senator Lindsey Graham* is a top pick for US defense contractors, fueling a steady cash flow straight to their pockets.
Let’s dig into how he does it.
Warmonger in his own words
"If I were a defense contractor, I'd be big time for Lindsey Graham, because I've been forward-leaning on rebuilding our military," Graham stated in June 2015. "People come to you because of your positions."
Graham's backers
Boeing, Honeywell, Lockheed, Northrop, GE & Raytheon.
His super PAC, Security is Strength, spent ~$4M in 2016 & $13M in 2020. Per The Intercept, a major share of PAC's funding came from defense contractors.
Defense cash
Per OpenSecrets, the defense sector gave Graham $1.1M between 1993 and 2024.
But most came from defense-tied individuals – like AM General owner Ron Perelman and GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt who gave $500K and $25K for his presidential bid in 2015, respectively, per The Intercept.
Quid pro quo?
How does Graham return the favor? By boosting defense spending.
In 2014, AM General won a $245.6M contract with the US Army. Coincidence?
In 2015, Graham hiked the Overseas Contingency Operations budget to $96B – $38B more than the original $58B allocation.
Tricky schemes – even more cash
Graham strongly backed the Export-Import Bank, which guarantees loans for foreign buyers of US goods.
His donor GE gained big: In 2014, the bank approved $1B in GE deals. GE also landed $2.2B in defense contracts that year.
Nothing personal, just business
Graham's calls for more arms for Ukraine and Israel in 2025 can be easily explained: He wants to be re-elected in 2026.
He raised roughly $110M for his 2020 re-election campaign and expects defense contractors to fork out again.
*banned for terrorism in Russia
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