On 28 July, the leaders of the US, Ukraine and Israel attended a memorial service for the Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham at Washington National Cathedral. Vice-President J.D. Vance, Finance Minister Scott Bessent and many other high-ranking officials also attended the memorial service.
US President Donald Trump, whom Graham had criticised at the start of his political career but later became a supporter of, delivered a eulogy. He mentioned that Lindsey Graham had supported US allies involved in armed conflicts, particularly in Ukraine and Israel. “I’ll be honest with you: there wasn’t a war he didn’t like. Only his true friends will understand this, but he wanted it for the good of our country,” Trump said. Among other things, he noted that Graham “passed away at the height of his career”.
Earlier that same day, before the coffin containing Lindsey Graham’s body was taken to the cathedral, his memory was honoured by lawmakers in the Capitol Rotunda. They remembered Graham as a sociable, witty and persuasive man whose open support for a hardline foreign policy made him one of the last prominent ‘hawks’ in the Republican Party, notes Reuters.
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham died suddenly on 11 July at the age of 71 in Washington, shortly after returning from Ukraine. According to official reports, the cause of death was heart disease.
Before his election to the Senate in 2002, Graham served in the House of Representatives, where he became a prominent figure on foreign policy and defence issues. He is regarded as one of the most consistent advocates of active US involvement in military operations abroad. In particular, he advocated intervention against Iran and strong support for Israel and Ukraine.
Lindsey Graham actively supported the provision of military aid to Kyiv in its war with Russia. Congress is continuing to debate a bipartisan package of new US sanctions against Moscow, the promotion of which Graham devoted the final months of his life to.
During a meeting with Donald Trump at the White House on 28 July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his condolences on the death of Lindsey Graham, noting that he had been “a true friend of Ukraine”.