Lindsey Graham funeral: Trump honors ‘American original’ in Washington

President Trump used the Lindsey Graham funeral in Washington, D.C., to remember the late South Carolina Republican as a “beloved friend” and a “true American original,” CBS News reported Tuesday.

Graham, a four-term senator known for his close relationship with Trump and his hawkish foreign policy views, died July 11 after suffering an aortic dissection as a result of heart disease, according to CBS News.

The funeral service at Washington National Cathedral drew many members of Congress, along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump arrived shortly before 2 p.m., greeted Vice President JD Vance and sat near the front of the cathedral.

What happened at Lindsey Graham's funeral?

Trump praised Graham as “a devoted brother, a respected statesman” and a “giant of the United States Senate,” according to CBS News. He said Graham rose from a small South Carolina town to become a global political force.

“For more than 30 years, nothing of consequence happened in this capital without Lindsey Graham knowing about it,” Trump said, according to CBS News. “Nothing of significance happened anywhere in the world without Lindsey Graham having a view on it.”

The president also pointed to Graham’s roots in Central, South Carolina, where his parents ran a bar, restaurant and pool hall. Trump said Graham learned diplomacy there and called him “the first person to make you laugh and one of the last people you wanted to fight.”

Trump also spoke about Graham’s sister, Darline. CBS News reported that Graham became her legal guardian after their parents died, when he was in his 20s and she was still a teenager. Trump said Graham’s “single proudest accomplishment” was how Darline turned out.

At an earlier ceremony in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, Senate Majority Leader John Thune called Graham a “towering figure” and said senators in both parties counted him as a friend, CBS News reported. Graham’s flag-draped casket was carried by U.S. Armed Forces pallbearers in recognition of his Air Force service.

Who spoke about Graham in Washington?

Vance remembered Graham at the Capitol ceremony as a man who loved the Senate, South Carolina and people from many backgrounds. He recalled clashing with Graham over Ukraine while Vance was still a senator, then later learning Graham had supported one of his rail proposals because it mattered to Vance.

Vance also credited Graham with helping save Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination during the bruising 2018 confirmation fight, CBS News reported.

Fox News host Sean Hannity and Graham’s niece, Emillie Boggs Roberts, were also listed among the eulogists at the cathedral service. Clergy from Washington National Cathedral, Corinth Baptist Church in Seneca, South Carolina, and U.S. Senate Chaplain Barry Black were part of the service.

What honors are planned for Lindsey Graham?

The Air Force is taking steps to rename Joint Base Charleston after Graham, a defense official confirmed to CBS News. The Post and Courier first reported the planned renaming.

According to CBS News, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink issued a memo this month directing the service to begin the name-change process. Graham served more than six years on active duty as an Air Force lawyer, later served in the South Carolina Air National Guard and then in the Air Force Reserves from 1995 to 2015, retiring as a colonel.

Additional services are scheduled in South Carolina on Wednesday. CBS News reported that a procession is set to begin at the South Carolina State House around 10:45 a.m., with Graham’s remains carried by members of the South Carolina State Guard, a law enforcement presentation and an F-16 flyover.

The procession is expected to end at First Baptist Church of Columbia for a funeral service, followed by a private family burial in Pickens, South Carolina.

This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.