Funeral services for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham are being held this week in Washington, D.C., and South Carolina, following the death of the longtime Republican lawmaker on July 11.
They began on Tuesday morning at the U.S. Capitol, where Graham’s flag-draped casket was carried into the Capitol Rotunda during an arrival ceremony honoring his decades of service in the Senate. Dozens of lawmakers from both parties gathered inside the rotunda, as Graham lay in state,
A memorial service will follow at 2 p.m. at Washington National Cathedral. President Trump and other dignitaries, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, are expected to attend.
Trump, Fox News host Sean Hannity and Emillie Boggs Roberts, Graham’s niece, are scheduled to deliver tributes, according to the program posted on the cathedral’s website.
The ceremonies in Washington, D.C., are closed to the public but will be livestreamed online.
U.S. Capitol
Washington National Cathedral
The late senator’s remains will then 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.
The funeral service will be followed by a private burial in Pickens County, S.C., according to his family.
Lindsey Graham died at age 71 at his Washington, D.C., home 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.”
