news Alerts
There are no new alerts at this time
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, congressional colleagues and world leaders Tuesday will say their final goodbyes to Sen. Lindsey Graham, the influential and colorful foreign policy hawk whose sudden death this month at age 71 stunned Washington and reverberated in capitals around the globe.
Two days of ceremonies and funeral services began Tuesday morning when Graham’s American flag-draped casket arrived at the Capitol for a special ceremony in the rotunda — his last visit to a building where he served for more than three decades.
In honor of the senator’s long military career, an armed forces body bearer team slowly carried his casket up the Capitol steps. Graham served as an Air Force judge advocate general, or JAG, officer and retired from the Air Force Reserve in 2015 with the rank of colonel.
Senate colleagues, past and present, Cabinet members and Graham’s family packed the Rotunda. Among those paying tribute were former Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Richard Burr, R-N.C.; Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.; Pat Toomey, R-Pa.; and Kelly Ayotte, now New Hampshire’s GOP governor.
Vice President JD Vance, who served with Graham in the Senate, said the late senator was incredibly funny but also had a way of connecting with people, whether it was political leaders or the waitstaff in the Capitol.
“Lindsey Graham loved people from all walks of life. … He was fascinated in the waitstaff in the Senate dining room. He was fascinated in the people who made the food. He was fascinated in the lowest staffer who had been hired three days earlier,” Vance said at the Capitol ceremony. “He was fascinated by, of course, the very leadership of our country, and I think he was fascinated in people because he loved people.”
Others on hand were former South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, a Fox News host; acting Attorney General Todd Blanche; Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, a former senator; and White House budget director Russell Vought.
“It’s difficult to believe that we’re here today to say a final farewell to Lindsey as he leaves the Capitol for the last time. My heart is heavy,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said at the ceremony.
“Lindsey was a towering figure here in the Senate and on the international stage. … Lindsey will be remembered as a senator and as a statesman,” Thune said. “But for me, most of all, I will remember him as my friend. It’s hard to think that there will be no more Senate dinners with Lindsey.”
Graham’s sister and only sibling, Darline Graham, who was appointed to replace him in the Senate, walked tearfully up to the casket alone, then placed her hand on the casket. She was joined by her family. Then a parade of Trump officials, senators and Senate staffers paid tribute.
From the Capitol, Graham’s casket will depart for the Washington National Cathedral for an invitation-only funeral service at 2 p.m. ET. That also will be livestreamed.
Trump is expected to speak at the funeral. Cabinet officials and congressional and military leaders are expected to be on hand, as are global leaders who viewed Graham as a key American ally on defense and foreign policy matters, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Also present will be Graham’s sister and successor, Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., who was sworn in to her late brother’s seat this month and plans to run for a full term in an Aug. 11 primary.
Remembrances will continue at the South Carolina State House on Wednesday morning. Graham’s casket will be carried by a South Carolina State Guard horse-drawn military wagon, known as a caisson, followed by an F-16 flyover to mark his more than three decades in the Air Force and Air Force Reserve.
A funeral service, open to the public, will be held at First Baptist Church of Columbia. A private family burial will take place in Pickens County, where Graham was born and raised.
Scott Wong is a senior congressional reporter for NBC News.
Frank Thorp V is a coordinating producer and off-air reporter covering Congress for NBC News, managing coverage of the Senate.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC
About the Author
