Key takeaways:
- Graham died July 11 at age 71; CBS News reported that a medical examiner found the cause was an aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
- Trump is expected to eulogize Graham at a 2 p.m. ET funeral service Tuesday at Washington National Cathedral, with Netanyahu and Zelenskyy expected to attend.
- South Carolina remembrances Wednesday will include a State House procession, a caisson, a law enforcement presentation, an F-16 flyover and a public service at First Baptist Church of Columbia.
President Donald Trump will eulogize Sen. Lindsey Graham on Tuesday as Washington begins two days of ceremonies honoring the South Carolina Republican, a prominent foreign policy hawk whose sudden death at 71 stunned colleagues and drew attention from leaders abroad.
Graham, a four-term senator with more than three decades in Congress, died July 11. A medical examiner determined the cause was an aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, CBS News reported. He had recently returned from Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and discussed plans for new U.S. sanctions and tariffs against Russia.
The observances begin around 10 a.m. ET with the arrival of Graham’s casket at the U.S. Capitol for a brief ceremony in the Rotunda. The ceremony will be closed to the public but livestreamed. An Armed Forces Body Bearer team will carry Graham’s remains, honoring his service in the Air Force, followed by a U.S. Capitol Police memorial guard in recognition of his years in the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said the Capitol tribute was appropriate for Graham, who spent much of his life in public service.
“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 in a statement. “From the military to state politics to decades of representing South Carolinians in Congress, Lindsey dedicated his life to giving back through public service.”
After the Capitol ceremony, Graham’s casket will be taken to Washington National Cathedral for an invitation-only funeral service at 2 p.m. ET. That service also will be livestreamed. Trump is expected to speak, and Cabinet officials, congressional leaders and military leaders are expected to attend.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Zelenskyy are also expected at the cathedral service, reflecting Graham’s role as a key American voice on defense and foreign policy. Graham was known for his hawkish views and for helping shape bipartisan agreements during his Senate career.
Also attending will be Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., his sister and successor. She was sworn in this month to fill her late brother’s seat and plans to run for a full term in an Aug. 11 primary. In a statement, she thanked “all those who have come together to help honor and remember Lindsey.”
The remembrances will move to South Carolina on Wednesday morning. A procession at the South Carolina State House is scheduled to begin around 10:45 a.m. Graham’s casket will be carried by a South Carolina State Guard horse-drawn military wagon, known as a caisson, and members of the South Carolina State Guard will take part. The procession will include a law enforcement presentation and an F-16 flyover marking Graham’s more than three decades in the Air Force and Air Force Reserve.
The procession will end at First Baptist Church of Columbia, where a funeral service open to the public will be held. A private family burial will follow in Pickens County, South Carolina, where Graham was born and raised.
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