Good Tuesday evening. In this edition: Trump remembers Lindsey Graham at Washington funeral service.
Plus, Clayton, Russia sanctions and Blanche nomination.
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Lindsey Graham, 1955-2026
World leaders, Cabinet members, lawmakers and other luminaries gathered at the Washington National Cathedral to pay tribute to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), reflecting on his humble beginnings, rise to the halls of power, influence on domestic and international affairs, and well-known humor.
The South Carolina Republican — a longtime lawmaker, Air Force veteran, lawyer and one-time presidential candidate — died unexpectedly earlier this month at age 71 of an aortic dissection caused by arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
President Trump, with whom he shared a close relationship despite their rocky start, hailed him as "one of the great figures in Senate history" during his eulogy, calling him a "giant" and a "legend" in Washington.
"Today, we gather in the deepest gratitude and profoundest sorrow to honor a beloved friend, a devoted brother, a respected statesman, a giant of the United States Senate, and a true American original who left us much too soon," he said.
"By the strength of his steadfast convictions, the force of his magnetic personality and the goodness of his noble soul, Lindsey rose from a small town in rural South Carolina — a place he loved so much — to become a constant fixture of American politics at the highest level and a force to be reckoned with all over the world."
The president lauded his outsized impact on American politics over the past three decades, saying "nothing of consequence" happened without Sen. Graham "having a say in it."
"He was a man who gave America the full measure of his good and mighty heart, until that heart itself just gave out," he said.
He also noted his foreign policy record and "hawkish" tendencies, saying he "never saw a war that he didn't like."
"But he wanted it for the good of our country," the president added. "He felt in his bones that our destiny is to win and that his job was to do everything he could to ensure our enemies would lose. It was this conviction that led him to serve 33 years in uniform."
President Trump also talked about Sen. Graham's upbringing in his family's South Carolina bar and how the lessons he learned there helped him through his career.
"He was the first person to make you laugh and one of the last people that you've really ever wanted to fight," he said. "These were the traits that made him into one of the great figures in Senate history."
The president spoke about how Sen. Graham lost his mother when he was 20 years old, then his father 15 months later, leaving his 13-year-old sister, Darline, orphaned.
"But in God's mercy, she had her wonderful brother to take care of her," he said. "He later said that for all his achievements — and he had many — his single proudest accomplishment in life was how well Darline turned out."
Shortly after his death, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) appointed Sen. Graham's sister to fill the remainder of his Senate term, and she declared her intention to seek a full six-year term in November.
"Nothing could be more fitting than that woman, who was Lindsey's proudest legacy, now continues his legacy of service in the U.S. Senate, a place that he cherished," President Trump said. "And I have no doubt that he's looking down today, beaming with pride at his sister, Sen. Darline Graham."
Among the dignitaries attending the service were Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Sen. Graham was a strong backer of Israel and outspoken advocate for Kyiv's fight against Russia, concluding his tenth trip to Ukraine shortly before he died on July 11.
Earlier in the day, Vice President JD Vance joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill for a memorial service in the Rotunda.
"I remember Lindsey Graham as a man who loved people," the vice president said. "And because he loved people, he was willing to reason with them, to respect them, and ultimately, to persuade them."
Vice President Vance also credited him with securing then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court amid sexual assault allegations that nearly derailed his nomination.
"What he saw happening to Kavanaugh was not a policy disagreement, it was character assassination," he said of the contentious confirmation fight. "Lindsey got as fiery and as passionate as I have ever seen a human being get during a judicial confirmation, and I believe that he saved that nomination."
The vice president noted Sen. Graham's remarks at the hearing went "viral" but that he didn't do it for the "social media clicks."
"He did it to do something at the very highest part of the Senate, which was to persuade his colleagues — and persuade his colleagues he did," he said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) delivered an emotional tribute, remembering his longtime colleague as someone not swayed by the politics of the day, but who always stood up for what he believed in.
"It didn't matter to Lindsey whether an issue was popular or unpopular, whether he had the full support of his colleagues or was standing alone," he said. "If he believed he was in the right, he spoke up. He told it the way he saw it, and he didn't mince words."
On Wednesday, a procession and public funeral will be held in the late senator's home state of South Carolina, followed by a private burial.
The Senate is currently voting on the confirmation of Jay Clayton to be the next director of national intelligence, capping a contentious fight over control of the nation's intelligence agencies. If confirmed, as is expected, Mr. Clayton, a former SEC chair and top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, will take over for Bill Pulte, a loyalist with no previous intelligence experience whom President Trump insisted on installing as acting DNI despite objections from lawmakers in both parties. Democrats, eager to oust Mr. Pulte, were initially expected to vote for Mr. Clayton's nomination, even cutting a deal to fast-track his confirmation in the Senate last month before the president blew up the agreement. But Democrats turned against Mr. Clayton after his confirmation hearing, during which he took a combative approach and refused to acknowledge that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.
The Senate is also poised to advance a long-delayed bipartisan Russian sanctions bill championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). The bill would slap sanctions on Russian officials, oligarchs and their families, among others, as well as allow the U.S. to impose tariffs on countries that purchase oil and other energy products from Russia. It also extends existing sanctions against Iran, restricting funding for the country's energy and weapons sectors. "Ukraine and the world need this war of aggression to end," Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), one of the bill's co-sponsors, said on the floor. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) also hailed the bill, saying it would "show the Russians we mean business."
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said he is continuing to withhold his support for Todd Blanche to become the permanent attorney general as he seeks to get the Justice Department's controversial "anti-weaponization" settlement fund completely scrapped. "Fake news alert: there is no 'deal' on Blanche nom," he wrote on social media. "They know what they have to do." The lame-duck senator, a crucial vote for advancing Mr. Blanche's nomination out of the Judiciary Committee, wants President Trump's settlement with the IRS to make clear that the government will not establish the $1.8 billion fund to compensate those who claim they were unfairly prosecuted during the Biden administration. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), another lame-duck Republican who sits on the committee, is seeking similar assurances.
For your radar…
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the nation's coronavirus response, testifies Wednesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by longtime nemesis Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY). Watch LIVE on C-SPAN at 8:30am ET.
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh holds a news conference Wednesday following the central bank's latest interest rate decision. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN at 2:30pm ET.
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