Lindsey Graham memorial draws Trump, Vance and world leaders to Washington

Washington,UPDATED: Jul 28, 2026 20:36 IST

Senator Lindsey Graham will be remembered in Washington on Tuesday, with memorial services at the US Capitol and Washington Cathedral for the Republican lawmaker who spent more than three decades in Congress. President Donald Trump is expected to speak at the cathedral, while Vice President JD Vance is due to address a morning service at the Capitol.

Graham, 71, died suddenly on July 11 at his home in Washington of a likely aortic tear, according to preliminary findings. His body was brought to the Capitol in a flag-draped casket carried by an armed forces team in recognition of his military service. The services begin two days of tributes, with burial scheduled on Wednesday in his home state of South Carolina.

At the Capitol Rotunda, where former presidents, military leaders and other prominent Americans have been honoured, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said it was only fitting to give Graham a special tribute "as we say our final goodbyes". Thune said, "For so many of us in the Senate and the House, myself included, Lindsey was more than a colleague, he was a friend." Several Cabinet members attended, including former senator Markwayne Mullin, now the Homeland Security secretary, as well as Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Later in the day, a funeral service will be held at Washington Cathedral, attended by lawmakers and foreign leaders. Trump is expected to deliver remarks alongside Fox News host Sean Hannity and other conservative figures. Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy are also expected to attend, reflecting Graham's long-standing belief in the power of the US and its military role in global affairs. The White House has said Joint Base Charleston will be renamed in his honour.

First elected to Congress in the 1994 Republican wave, Graham was among the first Republicans from South Carolina to win a House seat since Reconstruction. He later became a Senate manager during Bill Clinton's impeachment and won election to the Senate in 2002. There, he built a close alliance with senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman in the group known as the "three amigos", travelling widely with a focus on national security. Over the years, he was known as a constant negotiator in Congress and was part of several bipartisan groups.

His shifting relationship with Trump became one of the defining features of his later political life. During the 2016 Republican primary, Graham had called Trump a "kook" who was "unfit for office". After Trump entered the White House, Graham moved closer to him, but broke sharply after the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021, saying in a Senate speech, "Count me out. Enough is enough." Their ties revived soon after a meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, and Graham later became what Senator Adam Schiff described as the "Trump whisperer", with fellow senators and foreign leaders looking to him for insight into 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. Senators said the package should be advanced quickly as a tribute to him, and a first procedural vote was scheduled for later on Tuesday. Zelenskyy is also expected to meet senators in the evening.

At the cathedral service, socially conservative and anti-abortion leaders including Tony Perkins, Marjorie Jones Dannenfelser and the Reverend William Franklin Graham III are expected to take part. Graham never married, but he helped raise and support his younger sister, Darline Graham, after their mother died of Hodgkin lymphoma while he was in college and their father died months later as he began law school. He became her guardian when she was 13 and often spoke about how Social Security helped the family survive financially. Darline Graham has since been appointed by South Carolina's governor to serve the rest of his Senate term and is contesting the special election, with the filing period closing on Tuesday and voting set for August 11.

Graham also had a long military career. He served as a judge advocate general in the Air Force and remained in the reserves 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 retired formally as a colonel in 2015. With services in Washington and burial to follow in South Carolina, the tributes are marking Graham's political career, military service and influence in US public life.

With PTI Inputs

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