Trump, Congress and world leaders to honor the late Sen. Lindsey Graham in Washington
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be in attendance Tuesday. A funeral service in South Carolina will follow Wednesday.
WASHINGTON — World leaders, President Donald Trump and officials in Washington will pay their respects Tuesday to Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died suddenly at age 71 this month and was one of the most prominent and influential lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Two days of funeral services begin Tuesday in Washington and will continue Wednesday in Graham’s native South Carolina, which he represented in Congress for more than three decades.
On Tuesday morning, Graham’s casket will be carried by an armed forces body bearer team in honor of the senator’s military service; he 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.
While Graham will not lie in state or honor, as U.S. presidents and other prominent figures have, Graham will be recognized with a special ceremony in the Capitol’s rotunda. The armed forces team will be replaced by a U.S. Capitol Police memorial guard in recognition of Graham’s service in the Senate. The brief ceremony will be private but livestreamed.
“From the military to state politics to decades of representing South Carolinians in Congress, Lindsey dedicated his life to giving back through public service,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in a statement. “As we say our final goodbyes, it seems fitting for his friends and colleagues to give back to him through this special Capitol honor.”
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