Those moves have raised the specter that Graham, who once lavished praise on Biden “as good a man as God ever created,” may be making a political shift back to the deal-cutter who worked on immigration reform and defused a brutal Bush-era battle over judges. At a minimum, Graham still seems to believe in deference to presidents on nominations, despite his fury at how Democrats handled the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and his swing from vociferous Trump critic to ardent defender.

“Lindsey Graham prides himself on independence and unpredictability,” said Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). “That, I think, is what you’re seeing.”…

“Sen. Graham has a long history of supporting qualified [nominees], before the last few years where nominations have become divisive, partisan and bitter events,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a frequent collaborator with Graham. “I’m hopeful that Sen. Graham is simply hoping to continue what was a long tradition of supporting qualified nominees.”

Over his 19 years as a senator, Graham has remained consistent on judges, voting to confirm seven of the nine Supreme Court justices, including Democrat-nominated Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. That shifted in 2016, when Graham supported the GOP’s blockade of former President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.