RCP White House reporter Carolina Lumetta spoke to C-SPAN on Monday morning about how the administration is reacting to the sudden death of Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, and what the president has planned for this week. “Flags are still at half-staff at the White House. The president spoke to ‘Meet the Press’ yesterday, remembering Lindsey Graham not only as his political ally but as a close friend,” Lumetta reports. “They golfed regularly and went on trips together. They had an up-and-down relationship over the years, but this is certainly a blow to the White House.” “It’s an open question as to who could be the next Trump whisperer” in a Senate defined by “little battles” with the president, she says. “The White House doesn’t really have someone in that role anymore… There is a vacuum. There are few people with that level of seniority and leadership.” Vice President Vance, a former senator who could take on that role, is “spread thin these days,” she continued, with his book tour and negotiations with Iran in flux. “There seems to be disagreement as to whether the Strait of Hormuz is open. The U.S. says it is. Iran says it’s closed,” Lumetta explained. “We’re not sure whether the 60-day memorandum is in place or whether negotiations are going on.” This week, President Trump is expected to host IndyCar drivers at the White House ahead of the “Freedom 250 Grand Prix” next month, headline the 2026 Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit at the U.S. Army War College on Wednesday, and attend any memorial ceremony set up for Lindsey Graham. Here’s Carolina’s latest piece for RCP, about Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor: “How Do You Run a Government?”
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