Lindsey Graham memorial services begin in Washington as Trump leads tributes

Washington,UPDATED: Jul 29, 2026 00:48 IST

Memorial services for US Senator Lindsey Graham began in Washington on Tuesday, with leaders and lawmakers paying tribute to the Republican veteran as a major figure in American politics. President Donald Trump called him "a giant of the United States Senate, a true American original who left us much too soon" at a service attended by guests including foreign leaders.

Graham's flag-draped casket was first brought to the US Capitol, where he was honoured for more than 30 years of public life as a persistent dealmaker. Services will continue for two days, with his burial set for 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 of a likely aortic tear, according to preliminary findings. He had recently returned from a trip to a NATO summit in Turkey and a visit to Ukraine. He was 71.

At the Washington Cathedral, Trump described Graham as "the first person to make you laugh and one of the last people that you've ever really wanted to fight". He also recalled how he had once publicly disclosed Graham's mobile phone number during the 2016 campaign, saying the senator had the last laugh because "Lindsey did not stop calling me for the next 10 years". Among those present were Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, senators and current and former lawmakers.

At the service in the Capitol Rotunda, Vice President JD Vance, administration officials, lawmakers and Graham's sister, Senator Darline Graham, attended. She was appointed by South Carolina's governor to serve the rest of her brother's term. Vance said Graham had a "swashbuckling" presence and was impossible not to like. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, holding back tears, said, "Lindsey was a towering figure." Colleagues and former senators paid their respects one by one, including Senators Katie Britt, Tammy Duckworth and John Kennedy, and former Senator Richard Burr.

First elected to Congress in the 1994 Republican wave, Graham was among the first Republicans from South Carolina to win office since Reconstruction. He became prominent as a manager during President Bill Clinton's impeachment and was elected to the Senate in 2002. There, he built a close alliance with Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman, with the three becoming known as the "three amigos" for their international focus on national security. Vance said he had disagreed with Graham over his strong support for aid to Ukraine, which has divided Republicans, but added that Kavanaugh "would not be on the Supreme Court" without Graham's "fierce advocacy" during his confirmation hearing.

Graham's political flexibility was most visible in his changing relationship with Trump. During the 2016 Republican primary, Graham had called Trump a "kook" who was "unfit for office". After Trump won, Graham moved closer to him, only to break after the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, when he said on the Senate floor, "Count me out. Enough is enough." Weeks later, Trump invited him to Mar-a-Lago, and the two renewed their alliance. Graham later came to be seen, in the words of Senator Adam Schiff, as the "Trump whisperer", with other senators and even world leaders looking to him to understand the president'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, part of a strong US push to limit President Vladimir Putin's ability to continue the conflict. Senators were due later on Tuesday to hold a first procedural vote on the package in Graham's honour. Zelenskyy was expected to attend and meet senators in the evening.

Later services at the cathedral were also set to include Fox News host Sean Hannity and socially conservative and anti-abortion leaders including Tony Perkins, Marjorie Jones Dannenfelser and the Reverend William Franklin Graham III. Graham never married, but after both his 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 had helped them stay financially afloat. Darline Graham is now contesting what could be a crowded primary for the autumn election, with the filing period closing on Tuesday and voting due on August 11. Graham also served as a judge advocate general in the Air Force, remained in the reserves or Guard for decades, returned briefly to active status during the Iraq War, received the Bronze Star in 2014 and formally retired as a colonel in 2015.

The tributes in Washington reflected Graham's long political career, his influence in the Senate, his role in US foreign policy and his close ties across the political system, as the country marked the start of two days of farewell ceremonies before his burial in South Carolina.

With PTI Inputs

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