Heartbreaking Senate tribute to Lindsey Graham

Republicans and Democrats mourning the loss of South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham paid a touching tribute in the chamber as his sister, Darline Graham Nordone, was appointed to fill his seat in the Senate for the rest of his time period.

A bouquet of white roses was positioned over a black drape on Monday at the desk where the late lawmaker used to sit in the Senate. Likewise, flowers and condolence notes had been posted outdoors his Capitol Hill workplace after his death was announced.

Alongside the gestures got here a cascade of bipartisan reward, with many Democrats and Republicans recalling his decades-long political profession. “I wish that more people had the chance to get to know him behind the scenes and know who he really was,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller said on Fox News on Monday.

“But the man was a force of nature, a force of life, and he’s someone we’re still gonna be talking about 200 years from now,” he added. Democrats, meanwhile, remembered Graham, who grew from a MAGA foe to a staunch ally of President Donald Trump over the course of a decade, as someone willing to work across the aisle to benefit his constituents.

“Lindsey Graham was the one who was willing to work with me (when so few would) on helping the Afghan refugees,” Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar wrote on X. “I will miss him.”

“Even though we disagreed on much, he was always willing to negotiate, with humor and wit. My heart goes out to his loved ones,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said in a statement on X.

Graham died on Saturday night at age 71, having never married or had any children. His cause of death was ruled as an aortic tear.

The aorta is a human’s largest artery, like a highway that arches up from the heart and then curves back down through the abdomen — carrying oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body as other arteries branch off from it. It was announced on Monday that Graham’s sister would be her late brother’s temporary replacement in the U.S. Senate after his unexpected death over the weekend.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced at a news conference at the Statehouse on Monday that Nordone would serve the remaining months on Graham’s current term, which expires in January. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said afterward that she will be sworn in on Tuesday afternoon.

Nordone will be the first woman to represent the state in the Senate. “It is such an honor,” she said, as dozens of Graham staffers and campaign advisers stood behind her, some with eyes glassy from welling tears.

“Lindsey has always been there for me. And now, I will be there for him,” she added. Nordone was often by her brother’s side for the political touch points of his career, speaking at events and appearing in some of his campaign ads.

After their parents died at a young age, Graham was left to raise his sister, for whom he later became legal guardian. They were very close, and she was there as he filed reelection paperwork earlier this year, along with her children and grandchildren.

“To Lindsey, I miss you more than I can even put into words,” Nordone said, emotion rising in her voice. “But I’m going to do this. I got it.”

Introducing Nordone, McMaster said the 2 had spoken in “in the wee hours of Sunday morning” after Graham’s death, and he requested her to serve. “I had wondered what you would say, and I was humbled by your quickness to see the duty that you had to serve,” McMaster said.

He added that Trump “thought it was a great idea” when he later told him of his decide. Trump announced his help for Nardone to fill the seat earlier Monday.

Nordone has labored as an optician and at numerous state businesses, including the South Carolina Commission for the Blind and the Department of Employment and Workforce. She lives in Lexington, is a graduate of the College of Charleston, and has a grasp’s degree in rehabilitation counseling.