Sen. Lindsey Graham, the son of pool hall owners who rose to become one of his generation's more influential U.S. politicians at home and abroad, is being eulogized Tuesday as a “swashbuckling” public servant and “true American original” during memorial services in Washington.
Graham's remains arrived at the U.S. Capitol, where the Republican served for more than 30 years as an indefatigable dealmaker who talked and laughed and badgered his colleagues into action. His flag-draped casket was carried inside by an armed forces team, in recognition of his military service. Later, a funeral will be held at Washington National Cathedral with lawmakers and foreign leaders, a testament to his stature on the global stage.
“Lindsey was a towering figure,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, adding there was “no one more capable of cracking up a room.”
“I look forward to the days when you make us all laugh again,” said Thune, R-S.D., choking back tears.
President Donald Trump is expected to deliver remarks at the cathedral, alongside Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity and other conservative leaders. Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy plan to be in attendance, a nod to Graham's role as a foremost believer in the power of the U.S. and its military to intervene in the world's problems.
It's the start of two days of services, with burial Wednesday in Graham's home state of South Carolina. Joint Base Charleston will be renamed in his honor, the White House said. Graham died suddenly on July 11 at his home in Washington of a likely aortic tear, according to preliminary findings. He had just returned from a whirlwind trip to a NATO summit in Turkey, where he celebrated his birthday, and a visit to Ukraine. He was 71.
A place of honor to ‘say our final goodbyes’
The morning service in the Capitol Rotunda provided a place of tribute where former presidents and military leaders and other prominent Americans have been memorialized. Vice President JD Vance along with several Cabinet officials and former senators, including Markwayne Mullin, the Homeland Security secretary, were in attendance, as was acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who faces a rocky Senate confirmation for the job.
Vance described Graham as a “swashbuckling" figure — “who swashbuckled into the Senate” with his suit jacket open — and was impossible not to like.
“A true American original,” Vance said.
First elected to Congress in the 1994 Republican revolt that swept the GOP to power, Graham was part of a new era of conservatives to take their seats in the House — and among the first Republicans from his Southern state since Reconstruction.
He quickly rose to prominence as a manager in Democrat Bill Clinton's presidential impeachment, and he was elected to the Senate in the 2002 election. There, he formed an alliance with Sen. John McCain, a Republican from Arizona, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, in what would become the “three amigos,” globe-trotting the world focused on national security issues.
For decades, Graham had been at the center of the action — a member of virtually every bipartisan gang in Congress — with a relentless ability to shapeshift and adapt to political realities, particularly when it came to Trump.
The ‘Trump whisperer’ had one last mission: Russia sanctions
Perhaps nowhere was Graham's political dexterity on display as when he navigated his on-again, off-again relationship with Trump.
Graham had denounced Trump as a “kook” who was “unfit for office” when the two were early rivals during the 2016 presidential primary campaign.
Once Trump was elected, Graham gradually situated himself alongside the new president — until Trump sparked the mob who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, trying to overturn Democrat Joe Biden's election.
“Count me out. Enough is enough,” Graham said that night in a fiery floor speech.
Weeks later, Trump invited Graham to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, rekindling their alliance. The senator had said he wanted the president to be successful, and as Trump won a second term in 2024, Graham also wanted to remain relevant.
Graham had become what Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., called the “Trump whisperer,” someone other senators — and even world leaders — relied on to understand the president's thinking.
Days before his death, Graham had won Trump's support for a long-fought bipartisan proposal to impose sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, one of the strongest U.S. efforts yet to hamper Russian President Vladimir Putin's ability to prolong the conflict.
Senators said as a tribute to Graham they should quickly approve the Russian sanctions package, and they were scheduled later Tuesday to take a first procedural vote. Zelenskyy is expected to be on hand and meeting with senators in the evening.
Graham's champions and potential successors
At the Washington cathedral, a roster of socially conservative and anti-abortion leaders are expected to participate in the services, including Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, Marjorie Jones Dannenfelser of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and the Reverend William Franklin Graham III.
Graham never married, but he helped support his younger sister, Darline Graham, who is now a potential successor in the Senate.
She has been appointed by the state's governor to fill the remainder of his term in the Senate, and is running in a potentially crowded primary field for the fall election. The filing period for the special primary election closes Tuesday, with voting set for Aug. 11.
While Graham was at college, his mother died of Hodgkin lymphoma. Months later, his father died and Graham started his first semester of law school. He became the guardian for his sister, who was then 13, and later in life often extolled the benefits of Social Security that helped keep them financially afloat.
Graham went on to serve as a judge advocate general in the Air Force, and remained a reserve or National Guard member for decades. In the Senate, Graham briefly switched back to active status to help advise the Air Force during the Iraq War. He was awarded the Bronze Star medal for service in 2014 before formally retiring as a colonel in 2015.