--- title: Elizabeth Warren: Lindsey Graham Calls Silencing 'Overdue' description: Sen. Lindsey Graham said that Sen. Elizabeth Warren's silencing on the Senate floor was "long overdue" canonical: https://time.com/4665210/elizabeth-warren-lindsey-graham-silencing-long-overdue/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-09T15:24:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:04:44.540Z og:title: Lindsey Graham Says Elizabeth Warren's Senate Silencing Was 'Long Overdue' og:description: He said Warren is 'clearly running for the nomination in 2020' og:url: https://time.com/4665210/elizabeth-warren-lindsey-graham-silencing-long-overdue/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7750091cb7cac4da/6988b97a2dce012dd99ec338/elizabeth-warren-lindsey-graham-silencing.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Sen. Elizabeth Warren og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Lindsey Graham Says Elizabeth Warren's Senate Silencing Was 'Long Overdue' twitter:description: He said Warren is 'clearly running for the nomination in 2020' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7750091cb7cac4da/6988b97a2dce012dd99ec338/elizabeth-warren-lindsey-graham-silencing.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Lindsey Graham Says Elizabeth Warren's Senate Silencing Was 'Long Overdue' by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Feb 9, 2017 3:24 PM UTC  UNITED STATES - FEBRUARY 8: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., makes the rounds for television news interviews in the Russell Rotunda on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision to invoke a rule to silence her the night before during a debate of Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., nomination to be Attorney General. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) UNITED STATES - FEBRUARY 8: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., makes the rounds for television news interviews in the Russell Rotunda on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision to invoke a rule to silence her the night before during a debate of Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., nomination to be Attorney General. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)Bill Clark—CQ-Roll Call,Inc./Getty Images by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Feb 9, 2017 3:24 PM UTC South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham called Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s [silencing](http://time.com/4663578/elizabeth-warren-jeff-sessions-coretta-scott-king-senate/) on the Senate floor “long overdue” during an interview Wednesday. Senate Republicans rebuked Warren, who was prohibited from participating in further debates of [Jeff Session’ confirmation](http://time.com/4664815/jeff-sessions-confirmed-attorney-general/) after reading a [letter](http://time.com/4663497/coretta-scott-king-letter-warren-senate-sessions/) written by Coretta Scott King which questioned Sessions’ character. Graham made the comment on the [Mike Gallagher Show](http://www.mikeonline.com/) on Wednesday morning. He pointed at her political motivations and said Warren is “clearly running for the nomination in 2020,” CNN [reports](http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/08/politics/kfile-graham-on-warren/index.html). Despite what happened to Warren, many [Democratic Senators rallied](http://time.com/4663871/democratic-senators-elizabeth-warren-coretta-scott-king-letter/) behind her and continued to read the letter written by Martin Luther King Jr.’s widow on the Senate floor. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell argued Warren violated [Senate Rule XIX](http://time.com/4663698/elizabeth-warren-rule-xix-history/) when she “impugned the motives and conduct of our colleague from Alabama.” Graham also discussed the Democratic party with Gallagher. He said the Left was now being pushed by “the most extreme voices in their community, and they just don’t know how to handle it.” He continued: “If they empower her, then I think the Democratic Party is gonna lose way with the vast majority of the American people.” \[[CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/08/politics/kfile-graham-on-warren/index.html)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4665210/elizabeth-warren-lindsey-graham-silencing-long-overdue/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4665210/elizabeth-warren-lindsey-graham-silencing-long-overdue/"},"headline":"Lindsey Graham Says Elizabeth Warren's Senate Silencing Was 'Long Overdue'","datePublished":"2017-02-09T15:24:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:04:44.540Z","description":"He said Warren is 'clearly running for the nomination in 2020'","url":"https://time.com/4665210/elizabeth-warren-lindsey-graham-silencing-long-overdue/","keywords":["motto","Senate","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7750091cb7cac4da/6988b97a2dce012dd99ec338/elizabeth-warren-lindsey-graham-silencing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7750091cb7cac4da/6988b97a2dce012dd99ec338/elizabeth-warren-lindsey-graham-silencing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Sen. 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