MEMBER OF CONGRESS

James Lankford

Republican OK 1 statement translated

Senate

Remembering Lindsey Graham

2026-07-13

“I am sad about Lindsey Graham's death.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. President, a lot of words have been said today about our colleague Lindsey Graham and his passing. As the Presiding Officer knows well, where my desk sits, I literally sit and stand directly behind Lindsey's chair--where right now there is a black drape and white roses--where he should be today, but he is not. We miss our colleague. We miss his humor. We miss his ideas. We miss his insight on a lot of things, his passion for Israel, his passion for national defense, his passion for the life of the unborn, his passion for this body, for our Nation, and for South Carolina. As much as we miss him here, we also understand full well there is a lot of grieving in South Carolina and especially with his family and with Darline, who will be here tomorrow, being sworn in to this body as she takes her seat, literally sitting in the same chair he was sitting in 2 weeks ago. So I thought it would be appropriate that we do more than just talk about him. Many of us have actually shared. We are praying for his family, we are praying for his staff, and we are praying for the folks around him. So I thought it would be appropriate here in this body that we don't just talk about him but that we actually fulfill the words that are on the wall in our building where it says ``In God We Trust'' and just to take a moment to just express that. I am going to take just a moment to be able to pray for Lindsey's family: Father, I do ask that You would help Darline and help the whole family right now as they grieve and struggle through this: the 10 million emotions that she has to feel right now with the loss of her brother and with the responsibility of coming to this body to hold this spot for months. I pray that You give her the strength that she needs, the insight that she will need in the days ahead, and that You would comfort her as she grieves. For all of Lindsey's family and so many friends, for his staff, God, we ask that You would fulfill what Your word says in Psalm 34:18, where it says that You are ``[near] to the brokenhearted,'' and You ``[save] those who are crushed in spirit.'' We count on that today, Father, because this body will need Your help. Lindsey's family needs Your nearness. The people of South Carolina and so many friends will need that. So, Father, help us as we grieve and help us to be able to honor You in the days ahead. God, I am grateful that You are the One who cares for each of us and that You can be trusted every day. So we are grateful for that. So help us, guide us in the days ahead to do things well and to be able to honor You in our work. That is what we ask in the Name of Jesus. Amen. I remember the first week that I came into this body. Lindsey caught me just in a random conversation, and he said: You and I are the only Southern Baptists that are in the Senate now. Then he smiled at me and said: You should probably talk about that more than I do. And I have never forgotten that whole conversation. That was just classic Lindsey. He is a person that loved this body. He loved the country. He loved the people of South Carolina, and it showed. And as we grieve, I pray that we grieve together and that we go again and again and again to the source that hears our grieving and that meets us in our pain. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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