Hundreds of US lawmakers gathered in the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday to honor Lindsey Graham, the late Republican senator whose outspoken support for an assertive US foreign policy made him one of the party’s last prominent hawks.
US Air Force bands played as Graham’s flag-draped coffin stood in the cavernous rotunda, in a nod to his pre-Senate career. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were due later in the day to attend the funeral of an ally who forcefully lobbied Washington to back both countries during conflict.
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President Donald Trump, who Graham denounced early in his political career before becoming a staunch supporter, is due to speak at the Washington National Cathedral funeral.
“It really ended up being a great friendship,” Trump said of his fellow Republican in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, praising Graham for his help navigating partisan politics in Washington. “If I needed a Democrat, he could usually produce that Democrat if I had to have them in an emergency. He was a great politician and a great gentleman.”
