Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) held a meeting with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week to discuss the opportunity to enhance the U.S.-Saudi relationship, signaling a change in his previously critical stance towards the crown prince.
In 2018, following the brutal death and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi agents in Istanbul, Graham had called bin Salman an "unhinged" murderer he would never work with. However, during their recent interaction, both leaders appeared amicable as they were pictured laughing together alongside top US and Saudi officials.
During the meeting, Sen. Graham thanked Crown Prince Mohammed for a recent multi-billion-dollar deal involving Boeing jets manufactured in South Carolina. The agreement was valued at $37 billion and praised by President Joe Biden's administration.
Graham is not alone amongst American politicians who have changed their attitudes toward the crown prince; President Biden himself had pledged to make him a "pariah" while seeking election in 2020 but has since softened his approach after assuming office.
Regarding his previous comments about avoiding travel to Saudi Arabia while bin Salman remains in power, Sen. Graham did not elaborate further or indicate if that position still stands.
"I had a very productive meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed," said Sen. Graham on Tuesday upon returning from Riyadh, adding that he looks forward to strengthening ties between both nations.
The senator also expressed interest in working closely with Congress and President Biden's administration moving forward on issues concerning both countries' bilateral relations. Despite positive discussions revolving around business transactions such as Boeing deals and other investments made between South Carolina and White House-engineered arms agreements involving Saudis as well as United Arab Emirates partners – there remained concerns over potential future sanctions against Riyadh due to its involvement in Khashoggi’s murder case where bipartisan groups are seeking punitive measures against the kingdom.
Although Graham did not reference Khashoggi's death in tweets about his meeting, it is essential to remember that a declassified US intelligence report released in February 2021 concluded that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had approved the operation to capture or kill the Saudi journalist.