McConnell hospitalization and Graham's death shrink the GOP's already slim Senate majority

The weekend death of GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham has made passing the Republican agenda in the Senate even more tenuous for the GOP conference – considering Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell was already in the hospital and will not return to Capitol Hill any time soon.

The GOP conference holds 53 seats, but without Graham and McConnell, it now has just 51 voting members, meaning all must vote "yes" to pass a measure by a simple majority in the 100-member chamber. 

Help is now the way, to be sure. In South Carolina, the governor can appoint a replacement without a special election. GOP Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to promptly appoint one to replace Graham. However, Kentucky's McConnell said Sunday he's recovering from pneumonia, which he contracted while recovering from a fall, and that he will not be able to return to Capitol Hill to vote any time soon.

Meanwhile, the upper chamber has just 34 scheduled days on Capitol Hill to vote on legislation – including the SAVE America Act – before members leave for the November elections.

Trump said Sunday that he and Graham, on the night of his death, discussed the SAVE Act, an election integrity and voter security measure that Trump very much wants to be passed.

"So what makes it even stranger is that I got a call last night sometime in, you know, the early evening, maybe in the sevens, Trump said on NBC's Meet the Press. "And he called and he said, 'We’re all set for the SAVE America Act.' He was pushing the SAVE America Act like crazy. He got back, said he just landed from Ukraine.

"I said, 'That’s a long trip to make.' He sounded a little tired, but perfect, but a little bit tired. He had a right to be. Man, he was a worker. He was really a worker. But he sounded great actually. But he actually said he was tired. 

"But he wanted to pass the SAVE America Act. And I said, 'Well, we’re going to get it done, Lindsey. We’re going to get it done. I’ll see you, like, soon.' We thought maybe we might even meet today. And then that was it."

Other upcoming and likely close votes include ones on Trump's $1.5 trillion defense authorization bill, military funding for Iran, a possible third budget reconciliation bill and Senate confirmation to give acting Attorney General Todd Blanche the post. 

Graham is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and his death means Republicans now have just 11 members on the panel along with 10 Democrats. That means any Republican defection, with North Carolina GOP member Sen. Thom Tillis still undecided, would result in Trump's nominee failing to advance out of the committee and get a final vote in the GOP-controlled chamber.  

As chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Graham also occupied a key position in advancing fiscal legislation and budget reconciliation measures. And his absence could particularly be felt on foreign policy, given that he was one of the Senate’s most outspoken advocates for a muscular U.S. role overseas, particularly regarding Ukraine, Russia and the Middle East.