Funeral services for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham began Tuesday in Washington, D.C., where President Trump, members of Congress and other dignitaries paid their respects to the late Republican from South Carolina.
Hundreds of people, including Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and former Vice President Mike Pence, gathered at Washington National Cathedral for an afternoon memorial service.
Trump delivered the first eulogy.
“He was a man who gave America a measure of his good and mighty heart until that heart itself just gave out,” Trump said, reading from prepared remarks. “But even though Lindsey’s life was cut short while he was still so full of vim and vigor, there can be no doubt that he lived absolutely to the fullest. He died doing the work he was born to do. He was truly a great politician.”
The president said that Graham was “truly hawkish.”
“He never saw a war that he didn’t like,” Trump said. “He felt in his bones our destiny is to win and that his job was to do everything he could to ensure our enemies would lose.”
President Trump speaks at the funeral service for Sen. Lindsey Graham at Washington National Cathedral on July 28.
(ALEX WROBLEWSKI via Getty Images)Fox News host Sean Hannity remembered Graham, a frequent guest on his show, as “a force of nature.”
He joked that Graham held the record for expletives during his appearances.
“Senator Graham was great for ratings,” Hannity said.
In his eulogy, Hannity addressed both Netanyahu and Zelensky, saying Graham would have been honored that they traveled to the United States for his funeral. The Fox News host also addressed Kavanaugh, calling Graham’s fierce defense of the Supreme Court justice amid sexual assault allegations during his 2018 Senate confirmation hearings the senator’s “finest moment.”
Emillie Boggs Roberts, Graham’s niece, fought back tears as she delivered the final eulogy, remembering her uncle as a “family man.”
“His world revolved around my mother, his family, and those he considered such, like his lifelong friends, colleagues, staff and the citizens of South Carolina,” she said.
President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Eric Trump and Lara Trump look on at the funeral service for Sen. Lindsey Graham at Washington National Cathedral on July 28.
(Andrew Harnik via Getty Images)Earlier at the U.S. Capitol, Graham’s flag-draped casket was carried into the Capitol Rotunda for a ceremony honoring his decades of service in the Senate. Dozens of lawmakers from both parties were in attendance.
“Lindsey will be remembered as a senator and as a statesman,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota. “But for me, most of all, I will remember him as my friend.”
Vance recalled Graham’s humor and warmth, particularly on the campaign trail.
“Lindsey Graham could make anybody laugh,” Vance said. “And he could make anybody feel at home.”
Vance said he would remember 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,” Vance said.
The casket of late Sen. Lindsey Graham is carried into the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on July 28.
(Kenny Holston/Pool via Reuters)What’s next?
The late senator’s remains will be taken to South Carolina for a brief service at the State House in Columbia, S.C., on Wednesday, followed by a procession to First Baptist Church of Columbia for his public funeral. Seating is first-come, first-served.
A private burial will be held in Pickens County, S.C., according to his family.
Lindsey Graham died at age 71 at his Washington, D.C., home on July 11 after what his office described as a brief and sudden illness. The medical examiner determined the likely cause of death was an aortic dissection — a tear in the body’s main artery — due to a heart condition. He had just returned from Ukraine, where he had met with Zelensky.
His younger sister, Darline Graham, was subsequently appointed to serve the remainder of his term in the Senate. Last week, she announced that she will seek a full term.
“I am grateful to all those who have come together to help honor and remember Lindsey,” Darlene said in a statement announcing the funeral schedule. “I would like to extend my sincere thanks to President Trump and his team, Washington National Cathedral, Senate leadership, First Baptist Church of Columbia and the Senate Sergeant at Arms for going above and beyond to ensure these will be honorable tributes to Lindsey.”
On the eve of Tuesday’s memorials, the Pentagon began the process of renaming South Carolina’s Joint Base Charleston in honor of Graham, who was an Air Force veteran.
According to the Post and Courier, the military installation will be known as Joint Base Lindsey Graham.
