Lindsey Graham Honoured by Trump, World Leaders at Washington Memorial

Veteran Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was remembered as "a true American original" as President Donald Trump, world leaders and top US leaders gathered in Washington on Tuesday to honour the influential lawmaker. The services marked the start of two days of tributes before his funeral and burial in South Carolina on Wednesday.

Graham's flag draped casket was taken to the US Capitol Rotunda, where lawmakers from both parties paid their respects. It was later moved to the Washington National Cathedral for a memorial attended by Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and several current and former senators.

Trump called Graham "a giant of the United States Senate" and said America had lost him "much too soon." Looking back at their journey from rivals to close friends, Trump joked that after he revealed Graham's phone number during the 2016 campaign, the senator "did not stop calling me for the next 10 years." He also laughed while reading prepared remarks that said "virtually everyone" liked Graham, adding, "Well, not everybody." Trump also described him as "a tough cookie" and joked that Graham "never saw a war that he didn't like," referring to his strong support for US military action overseas.

Vance praised Graham as a man who respected everyone, while Senate Majority Leader John Thune called him "a towering figure" and said, "I feel his absence every day." Speakers also remembered Graham's key role in helping secure Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court.

First elected to the House in 1994 and the Senate in 2002, Graham became one of Washington's best known voices on national security. Though he once called Trump "unfit for office," he later became one of the president's closest allies and earned the nickname "Trump whisperer" for helping leaders understand Trump's thinking.

Days before his death, Graham won Trump's backing for a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill. Hours after the memorial, the Senate advanced the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act by 86-12, calling it part of his final legacy. Zelenskyy was present during the vote and later met US senators and defence companies during his visit.

Graham died on July 11 at the age of 71 from an aortic dissection after returning from a NATO summit in Turkey and a visit to Ukraine. On Wednesday, his casket will be taken in a procession from the South Carolina State House to First Baptist Church in Columbia, followed by an F-16 flyover, a public funeral and a private burial in Pickens County. The US Air Force has also announced that Joint Base Charleston will be renamed in his honour.