Lindsey Graham memorial begins in Washington as Trump, Zelenskyy to attend

Washington begins two days of memorial services for Senator Lindsey Graham with honours at the Capitol and a cathedral funeral. The attendance of Donald Trump and foreign leaders underscores Graham's lasting sway in US and global politics.

In Short

• Graham died on July 11 after returning from Turkiye and Ukraine
• Vice President JD Vance will speak as military bearers carry his remains
• He spent more than three decades shaping Republican domestic and foreign policy

Memorial services for US Senator Lindsey Graham will be held across Washington on Tuesday, with his remains to lie in honour at the US Capitol before a funeral at the Washington National Cathedral. President Donald Trump is expected to speak at the cathedral, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are also planning to attend.

The ceremonies mark the start of two days of services for the Republican leader, who served in Congress for more than 30 years and was known for his influence in domestic and foreign policy. Graham died suddenly at his home in Washington on July 11 of a likely aortic tear, according to preliminary findings, after returning from a NATO summit in Turkiye and a visit to Ukraine. He was 71.

At the Capitol Rotunda, Graham will be given a place of tribute where former presidents, military leaders and other prominent Americans have been memorialised. In recognition of his Air Force service, an Armed Forces Body Bearer Team will carry his remains into the Capitol, where Vice President JD Vance is expected to speak.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said it was only fitting to give Graham a special Capitol honour "as we say our final goodbyes". "For so many of us in the Senate and the House, myself included, Lindsey was more than a colleague, he was a friend," Thune said.

First elected to Congress in the 1994 Republican wave that brought the party to power, Graham was among the first Republicans from South Carolina to win office since Reconstruction. He later gained national attention as a manager during Bill Clinton's impeachment, and was elected to the Senate in 2002. There, he built a close alliance with John McCain and Joe Lieberman in the group known as the "three amigos", travelling widely with a focus on national security issues.

Over the years, Graham became known as a dealmaker and a regular member of bipartisan groups in Congress. His political flexibility was especially visible in his changing relationship with Trump. During the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, Graham called Trump a "kook" who was "unfit for office". After Trump won the presidency, Graham gradually moved closer to him, before breaking sharply after the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. "Count me out. Enough is enough," Graham said that night in a forceful Senate speech.

That split did not last. Trump later invited Graham to Mar-a-Lago, reviving their political alliance. As Trump returned to office in 2024, Graham also sought to remain influential. Senator Adam Schiff described him as the "Trump whisperer", a figure other lawmakers and even foreign leaders turned to in order to understand the president's thinking.

In the final days before his death, Graham secured Trump's backing for a bipartisan proposal to impose sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine. Senators said the measure should move quickly in tribute to him, with a first procedural vote scheduled for later on Tuesday. Zelenskyy is expected to meet senators in the evening.

The cathedral service is also expected to include several socially conservative and anti-abortion leaders, among them Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, Marjorie Jones Dannenfelser of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and the Reverend William Franklin Graham III. Fox News host Sean Hannity is also expected to speak alongside Trump and other conservative leaders.

Graham never married, but played a major role in raising and supporting his younger sister, Darline Graham. She has been appointed by South Carolina's governor to serve out the rest of his Senate term and is contesting a potentially crowded primary ahead of the fall election. The filing period for the special primary closes on Tuesday, with voting set for August 11.

His early life was marked by personal loss. While he was in college, his mother died of Hodgkin lymphoma. Months later, his father also died, around the time Graham was starting law school. He became the guardian of his 13-year-old sister and later often spoke about how Social Security helped keep them financially afloat.

Graham went on to serve as a judge advocate general in the Air Force and remained in the reserves or National 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 formally retired as a colonel in 2015. He will be buried in South Carolina on Wednesday, bringing to a close two days of ceremonies honouring his political career, military service and influence in Washington.

With PTI Inputs

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