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Leaders gather in Washington to pay their final tributes to Lindsey Graham
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New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a close friend who served with Graham in the Senate, said he was exceptional at developing personal relationships with those who disagreed with him.
military for more than three decades, including as an Air Force judge advocate. Ayotte said he often joked about her status as a freshman senator.
"Lindsey never missed an opportunity to remind me that he outranked me — not only in service but also in his office in the upper chamber," Ayotte said.
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− Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Leaders gather to pay final tributes to Lindsey Graham Lawmakers, foreign leaders and President Trump are gathering Tuesday for the first of two days of funeral services for the late South Carolina Sen.
+ Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Leaders pay final tributes to Lindsey Graham Lawmakers, foreign leaders and President Trump gathered Tuesday for the first of two days of funeral services for the late South Carolina Sen.
− Politics Leaders gather in Washington to pay their final tributes to Lindsey Graham July 28, 20261:08 PM ET Claudia Grisales
A U.S.
+ Politics In a day of tributes, Lindsey Graham is remembered as a tireless Washington mainstay Updated July 28, 20264:12 PM ET Originally published July 28, 20261:08 PM ET By
Claudia Grisales
,
Barbara Sprunt
A U.S.
− Jim LoScalzo/Pool-Getty Images hide caption
With a flag-draped coffin at the center of the Capitol Rotunda, Republican senators past and present remembered the late Sen.
+ Jim LoScalzo/Pool-Getty Images hide caption
President Trump heralded the late Sen.
− Lindsey Graham in remarks that celebrated his far-reaching influence — from his home state of South Carolina to the international stage.
+ Lindsey Graham as a "legend" and "giant of the U.S. Senate" during a funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday.
− Tuesday's ceremony at the Capitol was the first of two days of remembrances for Graham, who died earlier this month at the age of 71.
+ Trump's remarks came on the first of two days of remembrances for Graham, who died earlier this month at the age of 71.
Trump expressed fondness for the man who once had harsh words for him when the pair competed for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016.
− It featured tributes from several of his party's most influential voices, who shared memories of Graham as a friend, a congressional mainstay and a leading voice in U.S.
+ He recalled sharing Graham's personal cell phone number in a particularly heated moment with millions of people – "something I shouldn't have done," he admitted, before once again reciting the digits during the ceremony, to much laughter in the sanctuary.
Obituaries Sen.
− foreign policy.
+ Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Trump ally and foreign policy hawk, dies at 71 "But it was Lindsey who had the last laugh because while I blew up his phone for one day, we became great friends, and Lindsey did not stop calling me for the next 10 years," Trump said with a smile.
− From the Capitol, Graham's casket was taken to Washington National Cathedral for a funeral service.
+ Graham, a legislative powerhouse for over three decades in Congress, grew to become one of the president's closest confidantes, particularly on matters of foreign policy.
"He never saw a war that he didn't like," Trump said of the hawkish senator.
− Among those set to attend were President Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy.
+ "Only friends would understand that. But he wanted it for the good of our country."
President Trump delivers remarks during the funeral service for the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham at the Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday. Pool/Getty Images hide caption
Trump spoke about Graham's role in shepherding his signature tax and spending bill through the Senate last summer, quipping: "a lot of Lindsey goodies in there, I can tell you."
He recalled a lesson Graham said he learned from his parents' pool hall business that included a liquor store: "You have to be funny enough that people will keep coming back, and you have to be tough enough that you can stay in business and thrive. A very difficult combination. For his entire storied career, that's exactly who Lindsey Graham was. He was the first person to make you laugh, and one of the last people that you really ever wanted to fight."
"He died doing the work he was born to do," Trump said, referencing Graham's trip to Ukraine one day before his death. Graham announced a newly-brokered deal with the White House on a sanctions deal he believed would compel Russia to end its assault on Ukraine.
− Speaking at the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., highlighted the scope of Graham's work over his three decades in Congress, from his role in judicial confirmations to his fierce defense of Ukraine to his support of the anti-abortion movement.
+ That sanctions bill has been a priority for Republican leaders in the Senate, who plan to hold a procedural vote on the legislation on Tuesday after the end of services in Washington.
− Obituaries Sen.
+ Dozens of members of Congress, along with members of the Cabinet, attended the funeral.
− Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Trump ally and foreign policy hawk, dies at 71 With Graham's death, a "powerful voice" and a magnetic friend of the Senate was gone, Thune said.
+ Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was also in attendance; Graham was one of Kavanaugh's most vocal defenders during his confirmation process.
− "There was no one — no one — who took his job more seriously than Lindsey Graham.
+ Several of Graham's staff members served as honorary pallbearers for the South Carolina senator.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were both in attendance — a reminder of Graham's longtime advocacy for both nations, and his interventionist foreign policy approach.
Sen.
− But also, no one was more capable of cracking up a room," Thune said.
+ Darline Graham, R-S.C., pays her respects to her brother in the Rotunda of the U.S.
− Graham was often the first call for joint Senate dinners, where "the conversations and the laughs always flowed at any meal where Lindsey Graham was present."
Graham was from Central, S.C., where he lived with his family in a single room behind their business that included a liquor store and restaurant.
+ Capitol.
− After his parents died, Graham became the primary caretaker for his sister Darline Graham, who has been appointed to serve out the remainder of his term.
+ Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption
Among the other speakers was Emillie Boggs Roberts, who gave an emotional tribute to her uncle.
− Vice President J.D.
+ "Lindsey was, without a doubt, a family man.
− Vance, who served alongside Graham in the Senate, said it was impossible not to like his former colleague.
+ His world revolved around my mother, his family, and those he considered such," she said.
Politics Darline Graham, the sister of Lindsey Graham, is sworn in to serve out his term She shared the story of how after Graham's parents died, he became the primary caretaker for his teenaged sister Darline Graham, who has now been appointed to serve out the remainder of his term.
"Lindsey became brother, father and mother to my mother overnight," she said.
− Vance described a heated argument the two once had over funding for Ukraine.
+ "My mother said Lindsey would come home to visit every weekend from the University of South Carolina in Columbia while she was living with their aunt and uncle in Seneca. That is over a two-hour trip, one way, every weekend, as a young man in college. And that was only the beginning. Without a second thought, Lindsey made sure that he was there for his little sister, and he never stopped. Lindsey was always there for all of us."
Earlier Tuesday, with a flag-draped coffin at the center of the Capitol Rotunda, Republican senators past and present remembered Graham in remarks that celebrated his far-reaching influence — from his home state of South Carolina to the international stage.
− Politics Darline Graham, the sister of Lindsey Graham, is sworn in to serve out his term Vance assumed Graham would never support another piece of his legislation.
+ Graham's former colleagues shared memories of him as a friend, a congressional mainstay and a leading voice in U.S.
− But he was wrong.
+ foreign policy.
− "It was impossible not to like him — that swashbuckling, infectious laugh, that attitude, that passion that so many others have talked about," Vance said.
+ Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., highlighted the scope of Graham's work over his three decades in Congress, from his role in judicial confirmations to his fierce defense of Ukraine to his support of the anti abortion rights movement.
− Ukraine was one of Graham's highest priorities.
+ With Graham's death, a "powerful voice" and a magnetic friend of the Senate was gone, Thune said.
"There was no one — no one — who took his job more seriously than Lindsey Graham.
− In the months leading up to his death, he worked to move a Russia sanctions bill through the Senate that he hoped would help bring an end to the years-long war between Russia and Ukraine.
+ But also, no one was more capable of cracking up a room," Thune said.
− The bill has been a priority for Republican leaders in the Senate, who planned to hold a procedural vote on the legislation on Tuesday after the end of services in Washington.
+ Graham was often the first call for joint Senate dinners, where "the conversations and the laughs always flowed at any meal where Lindsey Graham was present."
Vice President J.D. Vance, who served alongside Graham in the Senate, said it was impossible not to like his former colleague. Vance described a heated argument the two once had over funding for Ukraine.
+ An Armed Forces Body Bearer Team moves Graham's casket in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. Pool/Getty Images hide caption
Vance assumed Graham would never support another piece of his legislation. But he was wrong.
Politics For Lindsey Graham, foreign policy may be where his influence was felt most "It was impossible not to like him — that swashbuckling, infectious laugh, that attitude, that passion that so many others have talked about," Vance said.
− Ayotte, a military veteran, said his work for the armed forces will never be forgotten.
+ Ayotte, who comes from a military family, said his work for the armed forces will never be forgotten.
− Politics For Lindsey Graham, foreign policy may be where his influence was felt most An alum of the University of South Carolina's law school, Graham served in the U.S.
+ An alum of the University of South Carolina's law school, Graham served in the U.S.
− "And you know what, he had earned that right."
Following a service for Graham at the National Cathedral later on Tuesday, Graham's remains will be flown back to South Carolina for a funeral service on Wednesday at the First Baptist Church in Columbia.
+ "And you know what, he had earned that right."
Graham's remains will be flown back to South Carolina for a funeral service on Wednesday at the First Baptist Church in Columbia.
+ An earlier version of this story mistakenly said that New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte was a military veteran. Ayotte comes from a military family.