Lindsey Graham memorial draws Trump, global leaders and Capitol tributes

Washington,UPDATED: Jul 28, 2026 22:24 IST

US Senator Lindsey Graham was remembered in Washington on Tuesday as a "swashbuckling" public servant and a "true American original" as political leaders, colleagues and family gathered for memorial services honouring one of the most influential Republican figures of his generation.

Graham's flag-draped casket was brought to the US Capitol for a tribute before a funeral at Washington Cathedral. President Donald Trump is expected to speak at the cathedral, where foreign leaders including Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy are also expected to attend, reflecting Graham's standing on the global stage.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, "Lindsey was a towering figure," and added there was "no one more capable of cracking up a room". Choking back tears, Thune said, "I look forward to the days when you make us all laugh again." The services mark the start of two days of mourning, with Graham to be buried on Wednesday in his home state of South Carolina. The White House said Joint Base Charleston will be renamed in his honour. Graham died suddenly on July 11 at his home in Washington from a likely tear in the aorta, according to preliminary findings. He was 71.

The ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda was attended by Vice President JD Vance, Cabinet members, current and former senators and lawmakers, and Graham's staff, friends and family. Among them was his sister, now-Senator Darline Graham, who was appointed by the state's governor to serve the rest of his term. Vance called Graham a man of "swashbuckling" stature who "swashbuckled into the Senate" with his suit jacket open and said he was impossible not to like. "A true American original," Vance said.

First elected to Congress in the 1994 Republican wave, Graham was among the first Republicans from South Carolina to win office at that level since Reconstruction. He rose quickly, serving as a manager in Democrat Bill Clinton's impeachment, and won election to the Senate in 2002. There, he built a close alliance with Senator John McCain of Arizona and Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut in the group known as the "three amigos", travelling widely and focusing on national security issues.

Vance recalled clashing with Graham over his strong support for aid to Ukraine, an issue that has divided Republicans, but praised his record, saying Justice Brett Kavanaugh "would not be on the Supreme Court" without Graham's "fierce advocacy" at a crucial moment in the confirmation process. For decades, Graham remained central to Washington politics, joining many bipartisan groups in Congress and showing a repeated ability to adapt to changing political realities.

That flexibility was especially visible in his changing relationship with Trump. Graham had called Trump a "kook" and said he was "unfit for office" when they were rivals in the 2016 Republican presidential primary. After Trump entered the White House, Graham gradually moved closer to him, until the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, when he said in a forceful Senate speech, "Count me out. Enough is enough." Weeks later, Trump invited him to Mar-a-Lago, and their alliance resumed. As Trump returned to office in 2024, Graham continued to remain close to him.

Senator Adam Schiff later described Graham as the "Trump whisperer", someone senators and even world leaders turned to when trying to understand Trump's thinking. Days before his death, Graham had secured Trump's backing for a bipartisan proposal to impose sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, one of the strongest US steps aimed at limiting President Vladimir Putin's ability to continue the conflict. Senators said a quick vote on the sanctions package would be a fitting tribute, and a first procedural vote was scheduled for later on Tuesday. Zelenskyy is also expected to meet senators in the evening.

At the Capitol, colleagues paid their respects one by one. Senator Katie Britt placed both hands on Graham's casket and then on her heart. Senator Tammy Duckworth saluted from her wheelchair. Former Senator Richard Burr bowed and briefly kissed the casket, while Senator John Kennedy gave a fist bump. At the cathedral, socially conservative and anti-abortion leaders, including Tony Perkins, Marjorie Jones Dannenfelser and the Reverend William Franklin Graham III, are expected to take part in the service.

Graham never married, but after both parents died while he was in college and then beginning law school, he became guardian to his younger sister Darline, who was 13 at the time. He often spoke later about how Social Security helped keep them financially afloat. Darline Graham is now running in what could be a crowded primary field for the autumn election, with the filing period for the special primary closing on Tuesday and voting set for August 11. Graham also served as a judge advocate general in the Air Force and stayed in the reserve or Guard for decades. During the Iraq War, he briefly returned to active status to advise the Air Force. He received the Bronze Star in 2014 and formally retired as a colonel in 2015. The memorial events in Washington and the burial in South Carolina together mark the end of a long political and public life that spanned Congress, the military and US foreign policy.

With PTI Inputs

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