What we know about the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral plans

The late GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham will be honored next week with funeral services spanning two days that will include a special ceremony at the US Capitol and a tribute from President Donald Trump.

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Sen. Darline Graham — the late South Carolina senator’s sister who was appointed to serve out the rest of the term — announced Tuesday that the events will take place in Washington, DC, on July 28 and in South Carolina on July 29.

Graham died earlier this month at the age of 71 from a tear in his artery, or aortic dissection, according to a preliminary finding from the Washington, DC, medical examiner.

Funeral plans over two days

The first day of services will begin at the US Capitol and will honor Graham’s military and political career. An Armed Forces Body Bearer Team will carry his remains into the Capitol to mark his service in the Air Force. Inside, the team will be replaced by a US Capitol Police memorial guard to represent his time as a US senator.

A special ceremony at the Capitol Rotunda will follow, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said.

“For so many of us in the Senate and the House, myself included, Lindsey was more than a colleague, he was a friend,” Thune said in a statement. “From the military to state politics to decades of representing South Carolinians in Congress, Lindsey dedicated his life to giving back through public service. As we say our final goodbyes, it seems fitting for his friends and colleagues to give back to him through this special Capitol honor.”

Graham’s remains will then be taken to the Washington National Cathedral for a funeral service at 2 p.m. ET, where Trump is scheduled to pay tribute.

The late senator was once a Trump critic but eventually grew to become one of the president’s closest allies on Capitol Hill.

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“What a terrible loss it is,” Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper following Graham’s death. “He’s a great politician. He was a natural. Very few of them. He was a natural politician. Got along with everybody.”

Following the service, Graham’s remains will be taken to South Carolina for a funeral in Columbia the next day.

The events on July 29 will begin with a procession at the state house with the South Carolina State Guard caisson detachment carrying his remains.

It will feature a F-16 flyover before his remains are carried to the First Baptist Church of Columbia.

Lindsey Graham’s political career

23 photos

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is seen in an elevator ahead of a vote on Capitol Hill on January 30, 2026.

Lindsey Graham’s political career

Lindsey Graham is seen in an elevator ahead of a vote on Capitol Hill on January 30, 2026.

Lindsey Graham questions Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, former head of security at Twitter, during a Senate Judiciary Committee on data security at Twitter, on Capitol Hill, Washington, on September 13, 2022.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham applauds as President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in North Charleston, South Carolina, on February 28, 2020.

Lindsey Graham speaks to supporters during a campaign bus tour in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on November 2, 2020.

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman is accompanied by Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Senator Lindsey Graham as they visit the border line between Syria and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on March 11, 2019.

Lindsey Graham stumps for Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush during a town hall meeting at VFW Post #10420 in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, on February 10, 2016.

Lindsey Graham greets Bingo players at the Manchester Bingo Center and Poker Room in Manchester, New Hampshire, on October 9, 2015.

Graham; Sir Elton John, center; and filmmaker and John’s husband, David Furnish, pose after testimony at a U.S. Senate hearing on the global fight against AIDS on May 6, 2015. Graham and Democratic Sen. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont hosted John as part of their bipartisan effort to combat HIV infection.

Senator Lindsey Graham speaks at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, on April 18, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Graham rushes to the Senate chamber to vote on an attempt to override U.S. President Barack Obama’s veto of the Keystone XL Pipeline legislation March 4, 2015. Graham was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002 and was re-elected in 2008 and 2014.

website, Graham continues to serve his country in the U.S. Air Force Reserves as a senior individual mobilization augmentee to the judge advocate general.” class=”wp-image-6729″ width=”1024″ height=”662″ />

Graham listens to testimony during a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting on national security strategy on January 27, 2015. According to his website, Graham continues to serve his country in the U.S. Air Force Reserves as a senior individual mobilization augmentee to the judge advocate general.

Graham arrives for a closed briefing of the Armed Services Committee on July 30, 2014. Before serving in the Senate, Graham was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994.

Graham talks to U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, before a news conference on Capitol Hill on July 24, 2014.

Graham and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, right, listen as President Barack Obama delivers the State of the Union address on January 28, 2014. Graham was in the U.S. Air Force and logged six-and-a-half years of service on active duty as an Air Force lawyer.

Graham holds a news conference on Benghazi, Libya, at the U.S. Capitol on October 30, 2013. From left, he is flanked by Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona; Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah; and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. Graham has been an outspoken critic of how the Obama administration has handled the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. diplomatic, in which four U.S. citizens died.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, meets with U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, and Graham on June 30, 2013, in Jerusalem.

McCain, left, and Graham speak during a news conference about Benghazi on February 14, 2013, on Capitol Hill.

Graham talks with reporters before heading into the Senate Republican Caucus policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol May 8, 2012.

Graham speaks to reporters after a news conference about his Social Security reform plan at the U.S. Capitol on April 13, 2011.

Graham, left, and McCain call on participants during a health care town hall meeting on September 14, 2009 at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. According to his website, Graham is a native South Carolinian and grew up in a blue collar family in the small town of Central, where his parents ran a restaurant and pool hall.

Presidential hopeful John McCain speaks as Senator Lindsey Graham and Senator Joe Lieberman look on during their visit to the Amman Citadel, an ancient Roman landmark in Amman, Jordan, on March 18, 2008.

Lindsey Graham gestures during an interview at a U.S. base in Kabul, Afghanistan, on December 10, 2008.

U.S. President George W. Bush, left, stands with Graham on the steps of Air Force One at the airport in Greenville, South Carolina, in March 2002.

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Lindsey Graham’s political career

The two days of services will conclude with a private burial in Pickens County.

Graham never married nor had children. He helped raise his sister, Darline Graham, after their parents’ death and later adopted her.

Darline Graham, whose appointment runs until January 2027, said Monday that she will run for a full Senate term this November. Trump previously urged her to run for her late brother’s seat, pledging his “complete and total endorsement” if she enters the race.

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