Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on the Senate floor Thursday that he would miss his friend and colleague Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).
“South Carolina lost a great, strong conservative voice,” Graham said. “And I’ve lost my colleague and friend.”
DeMint announced Thursday that he will resign from office in January to become president of the Heritage Foundation.
Graham said he’s enjoyed playing “good cop, bad cop” with DeMint over the years.
Graham added that he looks forward to continue to work with DeMint while he’s at the Heritage Foundation.
“I look forward to staying in touch with Jim and working with him at Heritage,” Graham said. “If we don’t make changes quickly we’re going to lose our way of life.”
Graham credited DeMint with making the Republican Party “look inward” during the 2010 election.
“During the 2010 election cycle he was one of the strongest voices saying that we had lost our way in Washington,” Graham said. DeMint recruited many of the freshman GOP House members.
DeMint, the founding member of the Senate Tea Party Caucus, will be replaced by whomever Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) appoints, until a special election is held in 2014.
