Zelenskyy, Netanyahu due at National Cathedral; Trump to address mourners
World leaders and senior political figures gathered inside the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday for the memorial service of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham. Speakers used terms including “swashbuckling” and “a true American original” to describe the South Carolina Republican, The Guardian reported.
Speaking during the ceremony, Senate Majority Leader John Thune described Graham as a “fierce defender of Ukraine” following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and credited him as a “powerful voice for the [anti-abortion] movement.” Thune, growing emotional, said: “I feel his absence every day, and I know my colleagues do as well. I look forward to the days when you make us laugh again.”
Vice President JD Vance paid tribute to Graham on Tuesday morning, crediting him with the successful 2018 confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, which The Guardian reported helped conservatives secure a supermajority on the bench by 2020. “I believe that he saved that nomination,” Vance said.
Vance described Graham as someone “who could disagree with you without being disagreeable,” and framed his approach to legislating in personal terms. “I choose to remember Lindsey Graham as a person who could fight with you on one issue, but fight for you on another issue,” Vance said. “I remember Lindsey Graham as a man who loved people, and because he loved people, he was willing to reason with them, to respect them and ultimately to persuade them.” He closed by calling Graham “a true American original.”
Graham died suddenly earlier in July at age 71, shortly after returning to Washington from a trip to Kyiv. His sister, Darline, was sworn in earlier in July to serve the remainder of his fourth Senate term, which ends in January. She is running in the Republican primary to permanently succeed him and was present in the Rotunda audience.
A former Air Force lawyer who served in the Air Force Reserve while in Congress, Graham was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1994. He served as a manager during President Bill Clinton’s 1999 impeachment trial before winning a Senate seat in 2002. Weeks before his death, Graham defeated multiple challengers to win the Republican nomination for a fifth term.
Graham was among the Senate’s most vocal advocates for an interventionist foreign policy, according to The Guardian, championing U.S. support for Ukraine, maintaining close ties with Israel, and pressing for military action against Iran. He was also a prominent voice in the anti-abortion movement.
Graham’s relationship with Trump was a defining feature of his later career. He once called Trump a “jackass” and a “race-baiting bigot” before later becoming an ally of the president, The Guardian reported. Trump was expected to address the afternoon service at Washington National Cathedral, where both Zelenskyy and Netanyahu were also due to attend.
Memorial ceremonies will continue Wednesday in South Carolina, beginning with services and an F-16 flyover at the state house in Columbia, followed by a procession to First Baptist Church for a public service. A private family burial will take place in Pickens County, home to Central, the small town where Graham and his sister, Darline, were born.