Sen. Graham says he hopes Pres. Trump 'drops the hammer' on white supremacy, talks V.C. Summer, Obamacare during Columbia visit

Updated: Aug. 15, 2017 at 8:20 PM EDT
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COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - Senator Lindsay Graham made a visit to Columbia on Tuesday and discussed a number of ongoing issues at home and nationwide.

Graham spoke out about his plan for health care in the U.S. to replace Obamacare, to which he referred to as "failing all over the country."

"The new idea is to take the money that we would've spent on Obamacare in Washington and block grant it back to the states to allow them to design healthcare systems that are best for the individual states," Graham said.

Senator Graham was asked about the events in Charlottesville over the weekend. He said the president's initial comments were inappropriate but he liked what the president said on Monday. One woman was killed and more than a dozen others were struck by a vehicle driven by a self-proclaimed white supremacist.

The senator said he hopes Attorney General Jeff Sessions, along with the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security, begin to investigate these incidents as domestic terrorism and hopes the Trump administration gets tougher on the white supremacy.

"Some of these groups believe they have a friend in Donald Trump. Donald Trump's job is to dissuade them that he is not their friend," Graham said. "This is an opportunity for the Trump administration to come down like a hammer on white supremacy - and I hope they do."

Graham also mentioned that he's asking Congress for billions of dollars in relief for the failed V. C. Summer project.

Senator Graham and others say that this project could be a sign that the nuclear power industry is collapsing. Currently, nuclear power provides the U.S. with only about one-fifth of its electricity.

The decision to stop work on the V.C. Summer site leaves just two nuclear reactors currently under construction in the whole country.

"How can you get 30 to 40 percent of its build and realize it costs too much. Westinghouse went bankrupt the contractor,  I think there are other contractors out there that can finish the project," Graham said. "I think it's in the federal government interest to see these project successful because I don't become a non-nuclear nation when it comes to providing power."

The decision to stop work on the V.C. Summer site leaves just two nuclear reactors currently under construction in the whole country.

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