Sen. Lindsey Graham's flag-draped casket arrived at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday for memorial services honoring a lawmaker whose final legislative achievement — securing President Donald Trump's support for bipartisan Russia sanctions — will face its first procedural vote hours after his funeral. He died suddenly on July 11 at his home in Washington of a likely aortic tear, according to preliminary findings. He was 71.
The timing underscores Graham's decades-long commitment to using American power to confront global threats, a legacy that drew both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington National Cathedral. Fox News' Sean Hannity said Graham would've been moved that leaders of two countries fighting separate wars made the long journeys to attend.
A Legacy of Military Intervention and Support
Graham had formed what became known as the "three amigos" with Sen. John McCain and Sen. Joe Lieberman, globe-trotting the world focused on national security issues. Days before his death, he'd won Trump's support for a long-fought bipartisan proposal to impose sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, in what would be one of the strongest U.S. efforts to hamper Russian President Vladimir Putin's ability to prolong the conflict. Senators were scheduled to take a first procedural vote Tuesday evening on the sanctions package, in Graham's honor. Zelenskyy was expected to be on hand and meeting with senators in the evening.
Trump called Graham "a giant of the United States Senate, a true American original who left us much too soon." In mostly prepared remarks, Trump described his onetime presidential rival turned ally as "the first person to make you laugh and one of the last people that you've really ever wanted to fight." Trump told the story of how he'd publicly disclosed Graham's cellphone number on the campaign trail, reciting the number in the cathedral, but said the senator had the last laugh because "Lindsey did not stop calling me for the next 10 years."
Vice President JD Vance described Graham as a man of "swashbuckling" stature — "who swashbuckled into the Senate" with his suit jacket open — and was impossible not to like. Vance recalled how he argued with Graham over the senator's staunch support for aid to Ukraine, which has divided the GOP, but praised his legacy saying Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh "would not be on the Supreme Court" were it not for Graham's "fierce advocacy" during the confirmation hearing.
A Personal Story Rooted in Social Security
Graham never married, but the Air Force veteran helped support his younger sister after both of his parents died while he was at college and then starting law school. He became the guardian for Darline, who was then 13, and he later in life often extolled the benefits of Social Security that helped keep them financially afloat. When Hannity said how important Darline Graham and her family had been to the senator, she put her hand over her heart in response.
Darline Graham, now appointed by the state's governor to fill the remainder of her brother's term, 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.
From Clinton Impeachment to Trump Alliance
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.
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 adapt to political realities, particularly when it came to Trump. Graham had denounced Trump as "unfit for office" during the 2016 presidential campaign, but over time he'd become what colleagues called the "Trump whisperer," someone even world leaders relied on to understand the president.
Trump Cabinet officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Kavanaugh, and current and former senators and lawmakers joined in the pews at the cathedral. A roster of socially conservative and anti-abortion leaders gave readings, 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.
It was 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, an Air Force official said. Graham had just returned from a whirlwind trip to a NATO summit in Turkey, where he celebrated his birthday, and a visit to Ukraine.
"Lindsey was a towering figure," Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, choking back tears during his remarks in the Capitol Rotunda. One by one, many of Graham's colleagues said their goodbyes. Sen. Katie Britt placed both hands on his casket and then placed her hand on her heart. Sen. Tammy Duckworth saluted from her wheelchair. Former Sen. Richard Burr bowed and delivered a brief kiss and Sen. John Kennedy gave a fist bump.
Why This Matters:
Graham's death came at a critical moment for U.S. foreign policy, with his final legislative push for Russia sanctions representing one of the strongest efforts to hold Putin accountable for the war in Ukraine. His personal story — an Air Force veteran who relied on Social Security to support his orphaned teenage sister — illustrated how safety net programs sustain American families through crisis. That he championed those programs later in life shows how lived experience shapes policy priorities. The immediate vote on Ukraine sanctions, with Zelenskyy present, tests whether Graham's bipartisan approach to confronting authoritarianism can survive his absence. His sister's Senate appointment and upcoming primary race will determine whether his seat remains in hands committed to similar priorities or shifts with South Carolina's evolving political landscape.