President Donald Trump will deliver remarks as lawmakers, military representatives and international leaders gather Tuesday for Capitol and cathedral services honoring the longtime South Carolina senator.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Washington will host two memorial services Tuesday for Sen. Lindsey Graham, bringing together President Donald Trump, congressional leaders and foreign dignitaries to honor a South Carolina Republican whose three decades in Congress placed him at the center of domestic politics and U.S. foreign policy.
Graham’s remains will first be taken to the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, where Vice President JD Vance is expected to speak during a morning ceremony. A funeral will follow at Washington National Cathedral, with Trump scheduled to deliver remarks alongside Fox News host Sean Hannity and several conservative leaders.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plan to attend the cathedral service, reflecting Graham’s long-standing advocacy for both countries and his belief that American military and diplomatic power should be used to confront international threats.
The Washington ceremonies begin two days of observances for Graham, who died unexpectedly July 11 at his home in the nation’s capital. Preliminary findings indicated that a tear in his aorta was the likely cause. He was 71.
Graham had recently returned from a rapid series of overseas engagements that included a NATO summit in Turkey, where he marked his birthday, followed by a visit to Ukraine.
His remains will be carried into the Capitol by an Armed Forces Body Bearer Team in recognition of his decades of service in the Air Force, Reserve and National Guard.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said honoring Graham in the Rotunda was an appropriate final tribute to a lawmaker whose relationships extended throughout the House and Senate.
“For so many of us in the Senate and the House, myself included, Lindsey was more than a colleague, he was a friend,” Thune said.
The Rotunda has served as a setting for national tributes to presidents, military commanders and other prominent Americans. Graham’s ceremony will recognize a congressional career that began during the Republican electoral wave of 1994 and continued through repeated shifts in the country’s political landscape.
Graham entered the House as part of the Republican majority that captured control of Congress that year. He was also among the first Republicans elected from South Carolina in the period following Reconstruction.
His national profile grew during the impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton, when Graham served as one of the House managers presenting the case.
South Carolina voters elected him to the Senate in 2002. He later developed a close foreign-policy partnership with Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.
The three senators became known as the “three amigos” as they traveled internationally and promoted an assertive approach to national security, military affairs and U.S. involvement overseas.
Graham became a regular participant in bipartisan negotiations throughout his Senate career. He joined numerous congressional working groups and frequently attempted to persuade colleagues through a combination of personal appeals, persistent argument and humor.
His political adaptability was especially evident in his frequently changing relationship with Trump.
The two competed for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, during which Graham called Trump a “kook” and said he was “unfit for office.”
After Trump won the presidency, Graham gradually became one of his most visible congressional allies. That relationship fractured briefly after the Jan. 6, 2021, protest at the Capitol as Congress met to certify Joe Biden’s election victory.
“Count me out. Enough is enough,” Graham said during a forceful Senate floor speech that night.
The estrangement was temporary. Trump invited Graham to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida several weeks later, and the two rebuilt their alliance.
Graham said he wanted Trump to succeed and remained closely connected to him after Trump returned to the White House following the 2024 election.
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., described Graham as the “Trump whisperer,” a recognition of the role he played in helping other senators and foreign leaders interpret the president’s views and approach him on sensitive issues.
One of Graham’s final legislative efforts involved a bipartisan proposal to impose additional sanctions on Russia over its war against Ukraine.
Days before his death, Graham secured Trump’s backing for the measure, which supporters described as one of the strongest U.S. attempts to restrict Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ability to continue the war.
Senators have called for swift passage of the sanctions package as a tribute to Graham. The chamber was scheduled to take an initial procedural vote later Tuesday, with Zelenskyy expected to meet senators that evening.
The Washington National Cathedral service will also include several socially conservative and anti-abortion figures who worked with Graham over the course of his career.
Expected participants include Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Jones Dannenfelser and the Rev. William Franklin Graham III.
Graham never married and had no children, but his relationship with his younger sister, Darline Graham, was central to his personal life.
Their mother died from Hodgkin lymphoma while Graham was attending college. Their father died several months later, shortly after Graham began his first semester of law school.
Graham became the legal guardian of Darline, who was 13 at the time. He later spoke frequently about how Social Security benefits helped them remain financially stable after losing both parents.
Darline Graham has since been appointed by South Carolina’s governor to serve the remainder of her brother’s Senate term. She is seeking the seat in a special election and could become his long-term successor.
The filing period for the special primary closes Tuesday, and voting is scheduled for Aug. 11. She could face a crowded field of candidates seeking to complete the term.
Before entering elected office, Lindsey Graham served as a judge advocate general in the Air Force. He continued serving through the Air Force Reserve and South Carolina Air National Guard for decades after beginning his political career.
During the Iraq War, Graham temporarily returned to active status to advise the Air Force while continuing his Senate duties.
He received the Bronze Star Medal in 2014 and formally retired from military service as a colonel the following year.
Following Tuesday’s Washington ceremonies, Graham will be returned to South Carolina for additional services and burial Wednesday.
The two-day farewell will reflect the varied roles he occupied throughout his life: military lawyer, congressman, senator, presidential candidate, bipartisan negotiator, foreign-policy advocate and presidential confidant.
His funeral will also bring together figures whose countries and political careers were directly affected by his work, underscoring the international reach he achieved during more than 30 years on Capitol Hill.
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