RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from NBC News — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 3 sources
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.” After the Capitol ceremony, Graham’s casket will depart for Washington National Cathedral for an invitation-only funeral service at 2 p.m. ET, which will also be livestreamed. Trump, who was one of the last people to speak to Graham and said he considered the senator like “family,” is expected to deliver remarks at the funeral. Cabinet officials and congressional and military leaders are also expected to be on hand. So are global leaders who have worked closely with Graham on defense and foreign policy issues for years, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump is expected to meet separately Tuesday with Netanyahu and Zelenskyy. Just two days after Graham’s death, South Carolina GOP Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Graham’s sister and only sibling, Darline Graham, to fill out the six months remaining in his Senate term. She announced last week that she’ll run for a full, six-year term, and she has the difficult task of planning for her brother’s services, getting up to speed on Senate business and running for a fast-approaching Aug. 11 primary election. After the services in Washington, Graham will make his final journey to South Carolina — a flight he took hundreds of times during his eight years in the House and nearly a quarter century in the Senate. The public is invited to pay its respects along a procession route at about 10:45 a.m. ET Wednesday at the South Carolina State House in Columbia, where Graham’s political career began in 1993. Graham’s casket will be carried by a South Carolina State Guard horse-drawn military wagon, known as a caisson, and there will be a presentation of law enforcement from agencies across South Carolina on the north steps of the State House. An F-16 flyover from the 169th Fighter Wing from McEntire Joint National Guard Base will follow at about 11 a.m. ET. The caisson will continue down Main Street and arrive at First Baptist Church of Columbia, where a funeral service will be held. A private family burial will take place in Pickens County, South Carolina, where Lindsey and Darline Graham were born and raised. Lindsey Graham, who had been chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, died the night of July 11 after emergency personnel responded to a call for “cardiac arrest” at his home near the U.S. Capitol. He had just returned from a trip to Kyiv, Ukraine, where he had met with Zelenskyy, and was expected to be a guest on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” the next morning. Graham’s office said that the preliminary cause of death was “aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease,” or a rupture of his aorta due to a hardening of his arteries. Results of toxicology and other tests are still pending.
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.