Transcript: Sen. Tim Scott on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” July 12, 2026
The following is a transcript of an interview with Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on July 12, 2026.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Now we go to South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott. Senator, hello, and sorry for your loss. As Americans wake up in the morning, I wonder how you can remind them of Senator Graham, a man who has served this country in uniform, but also in the Capitol for so many decades.
SENATOR TIM SCOTT: Margaret, thank you for your sympathy. And America has certainly lost its leader. I lost a friend. Remembering Lindsey Graham, Margaret, honestly remembers her humble beginnings. I’m not sure everyone connects the dots of who he is and why he is. His mother dies of cancer 15 months later. His father dies of a severe heart attack. He adopted his 13-year-old sister when she was only 19 and a student at the University of South Carolina. And that difficult and surprisingly difficult beginning can set his worldview. And as a public servant, Margaret, one thing we don’t often think about with Lindsey is that she wanted to make sure that if she needed help, and she could help, she was there. He wanted to make sure that those who would sometimes feel invisible were seen, and he did an amazing job in South Carolina, providing the kind of public service you would want to see in your elected official. He also understood that he was working for the people of South Carolina, not just a leader of South Carolina. Of course, there is an undeniable foreign policy portfolio that was like who- we knew him in public service, but as a South Carolinian, as a friend, I have to tell you, he was a brilliant man. He was always making fun of himself. I’ll tell you one quick story, Margaret. When I first started my South Carolina prayer breakfast in DC for those of us from South Carolina, I called Lindsey, and I knew she wasn’t a morning person, and the prayer breakfast starts at 8:30 in the morning. And I said, “Lindsey, are you coming?” He says, “I’m not coming, even if Jesus comes before 10 in the morning” It made me- I just laughed out loud. And then, at 8:31, who walks in the door? Lindsey Graham. He was always committed to the priorities that he thought were important, not only to him, but to me as well. And it’s one of those times where you just know who he is as a person, and then as a public servant, we certainly know him as a foreign policy veteran as —
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SEN. SCOTT: –someone who wore the uniform for 30 years, a colonel in our army, he loved America very much. He served us well–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SEN. SCOTT: –and he will be undeniably missed.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes, I want to- you know, Senator Graham’s staff said he had a sudden and brief illness. So you know what happened? Because it shocked us, frankly, just one night.
SEN. SCOTT: Well, I don’t know the details as his staff has released them. My thinking was having a heart attack, but I hate to–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SEN. SCOTT: –I’m just giving you my opinion on what I’ve heard from people around, but I think we’ll have more information in the next few days. But then–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SEN. SCOTT: –appears to have had a heart attack.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You know, you talked about humor in parliament. He would come to this program
SEN. SCOTT: Yes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: –and you’re going to use this scene. He was very clear. He was coming to the television because he had a message for the president of the United States himself that he wanted Mr. He kept flying around the world. I wonder how the Republican leadership plans to honor his legacy.
SEN. SCOTT: You know, one of the things that I think we should do, obviously, is that the “Southside Prayer Breakfast” is coming to me later this month. I’m going to rename it to honor Lindsey Graham, and now we’ll have a “Lindsey Graham Prayer Breakfast” going on as long as I’m in public service. Number one, two, as the leadership of the Senate comes together, I spoke with John Thune at about 4:30 this morning, and he- he and I and John Barrasso and others will find an appropriate way to honor him throughout the week and frankly for the rest of this time. I will say that one of the ways we can respect Lindsey Graham is to understand the importance he placed on America, America’s security abroad.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SEN. SCOTT: If you want to know who he was, he was someone who believed that when you leave this country, you should be safe no matter where you go, and no matter what the cost. And that’s why, as a young person who became the budget chair, Margaret, one of the funniest stories I remember sitting there with Lindsey Graham. He said, “Now I’m the budget chairman and I don’t know anything about money. I don’t know anything about numbers, but I’m going to do the job anyway.” And as you can tell, we have that budget tool called reconciliation done once–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, you know–
SEN. SCOTT: –twice because Lindsey Graham–
MARGARET BRENNAN: — I spoke to the Senator–
SEN. SCOTT: –he knew people.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right. I spoke with Senator Graham several times on Friday when he was in Kyiv, we spoke on the phone, and I know–
SEN. SCOTT: Yes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: — he was very happy that the White House would finally support this bill that he was working on with Senator Blumenthal to deal with Russia and its big–
SEN. SCOTT: Yes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: –oil buyers. He said he had 85 signatures. He said this will- this will pass. Will you honor him by making that vote happen, is there a commitment to it?
SEN. SCOTT: Well, Margaret, it’s too early for me to talk about politics and – about the legislation sponsored by Lindsey Graham. We will be busy with that tomorrow. Today, I will remain busy with his legacy and pray for his sister and the entire country that has lost a powerful leader. There are many ways we can honor Lindsey Graham today.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SEN. SCOTT: The best way I can honor him is to talk about his legacy as a person and as a public servant. There is no doubt that foreign policy will be one of the ways we can praise him. I will not be specific because, in fact, it will take the entire leadership to make decisions on how to do that.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, I just- the joy in his voice on that one stood out to me.
SEN. SCOTT: Oh- he’s-Margaret, you know him and anybody in this public forum because he was so dedicated to community service–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SEN. SCOTT: –and I know that your family is as committed to public service as they were to wearing the uniform. And one of the ways that we’re going to show our commitment to Lindsey, my hope is to focus on the important things that she’s done for this nation from a global perspective, and I hope that the White House, the Senate, frankly, Republicans and Democrats will come together and do the things that we need to do for the American people, and that’s going to be the best way that we can honor her legacy.
Margaret Brennan He will be there. Remember he said, “Oh, Margaret, I spent four and a half hours with the president on the golf course yesterday, and here’s what we’re going to do.” Who can step up and help create that connective tissue between the White House and lawmakers now?
SEN. SCOTT: Well, I don’t know anyone who can fill Lindsey Graham’s shoes. Another thing I can say is that he has recently emphasized the important role he plays in building bridges in life, as part of who he was, that’s why I started with the story of those who felt invisible, and in front of him you know that he is visible. And we’re going to have an important discussion coming up. President Trump is committed to the Republican Party and, arguably, to the Republican Senate. There is disagreement, without question. But the good news is that that disagreement has, so far, made us stronger. And Lindsey Graham being on the phone with the president every day was helpful without any question. Playing golf every weekend for four hours. How someone plays golf for four hours, I will not know because I have never played for two hours. But the truth of the matter is, it’s the bond he made on the golf course that made him a strong advocate for the president and our strong advocate for the president, so we’re going to need that. But most importantly, what we need is a champion who rises to the top not through politics, but through serving our country. That was Lindsey. He had friends on both sides of the street. You see the world–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SEN. SCOTT: –leaders are coming out from all over the world looking for Lindsey Graham, and why? Because he put others first. It is a biblical principle–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SEN. SCOTT: –letting others shine above you, and he did that well, even in his passing–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SEN. Scott: –he’s like iron sharpening iron, so one person sharpens another. Now we are watching the world react to the impact Lindsey Graham has had, not just here at home in South Carolina, but around the world.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Scott, thank you for your memories this morning.
SEN. SCOTT: Yes, ma’am.
