In a day of tributes, Lindsey Graham is remembered as a tireless Washington mainstay
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was one of several dignitaries from around the world at Senator Lindsey Graham's funeral yesterday. The South Carolina Republican died earlier this month from a heart condition at the age of 71. He was the son of pool hall owners and became one of the most influential voices in Congress. NPR's Barbara Sprunt reports on how Washington remembered him.
BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: Graham was first elected to Congress in 1994, the year that ushered in a new generation of conservatives to the House. Yesterday, his remains were returned to the U.S. Capitol, where the South Carolina Republican worked for over 30 years. His casket was draped by a flag and carried inside by an Armed Forces Body Bearer team in recognition of his military service. Senate Majority Leader John Thune called Graham a towering figure who was friends with senators on both sides of the aisle.
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JOHN THUNE: There was no one - no one - who took his job more seriously than Lindsey Graham. But also, no one was more capable of cracking up a room.
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SPRUNT: Later at the National Cathedral, lawmakers, family and foreign leaders gathered to honor the statesman's life. Several of Graham's staff members served as honorary pallbearers. Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were in attendance, a reminder of Graham's role in pushing an interventionist foreign policy approach. Graham's niece, Emillie Boggs Roberts, described his close relationship with her mother, whom he raised after their parents' death.
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EMILLIE BOGGS ROBERTS: When my mom called, he answered. It didn't matter if he was about to walk into a meeting with the president or another world leader.
SPRUNT: In a tribute, President Trump expressed fondness for the man who had once had harsh words for him when the pair competed for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016. He recalled sharing Graham's personal cell phone number in a particularly heated moment with millions of people.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: But it was Lindsey who had the last laugh because while I blew up his phone all - for one day, we became great friends. And Lindsey did not stop calling me for the next 10 years. It was not easy.
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SPRUNT: Graham ended up becoming Trump's close confidant and policy adviser.
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TRUMP: He was the first person to make you laugh and one of the last people that you've really ever wanted to fight.
SPRUNT: Graham will be laid to rest in his home state of South Carolina today.
Barbara Sprunt, NPR News, Washington.
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