Lindsey Graham’s final legislative push moves forward as Washington says goodbye

As Washington, D.C., prepares to say its final goodbyes to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, his last legislative crusade is inching closer to the finish line.

Graham, who died suddenly at the age of 71 earlier this month, will begin the first part of his final journey home to South Carolina in Washington on Tuesday, where lawmakers and world leaders will gather to pay tribute to the longtime lawmaker.

He will get two celebrations of his life in Washington on Tuesday, first in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in the morning, and then at a private funeral service at the National Cathedral.

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The services in Washington, D.C., which will be followed by funeral services in Graham’s home state of South Carolina, will close the loop on a life in politics that saw the longtime lawmaker grow from humble beginnings behind his parents’ bar to becoming a leader in national security concerns and foreign policy.

His impact on the world stage will draw several to the services in Washington, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The latter is set to speak with lawmakers Tuesday morning as the Senate prepares to move on Graham’s passion project: inflicting bone-crushing sanctions on Russia in response to the war in Ukraine.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., quoted Graham in relaying the significance of the sanctions package moving forward and the impact it would have on his legacy.

“To quote Senator Graham, ‘It’s a big effing deal. We all did well. We all did good,’” Blumenthal told Digital. “Those were among the last comments he made to me. Neither of us knowing, you know, that he was going to pass, but it is a profoundly significant part of his legacy.”

“It’s a huge achievement for him,” he continued. “And I’m very proud to be, you know, his partner in that effort.”

Blumenthal and a growing bipartisan group of senators have revamped the legislation once more, including changing the name to honor Graham, a move pushed by his sister and newly appointed Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C.

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But the work is not done, he said.

“It’s going to be a very important part of his legacy, and it is a tribute, a fitting and appropriate tribute to him,” Blumenthal said. “I hope it passes. We’re not there yet.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., teed up the sanctions package, which now includes sanctions against Iran, for a vote last week. Lawmakers are expected to get a chance to move the legislation through a key procedural hurdle Tuesday night, hours after Graham’s service at the National Cathedral.

Thune, who has spoken with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and expected Democrats to buy into the package, was hopeful that the first challenge would go well, but acknowledged that there were some lawmakers who had issues with the bill.

“I hope to, you know, the motion to get on it will be a very big bipartisan vote,” Thune said. “And if it is, I think that will at least set up a path to get it done.”

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks at a podium split with an image of Russian President Vladimir Putin crossing himself at Orthodox Easter service. (Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via Reuters; Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool/AP Photo)

Many of the core aspects of the legislation, which had its own stops and starts on its journey through the Senate, are the same: sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian officials and Russian military leaders, up to 500% tariffs on Russian imports, tariffs of up to 100% on countries buying Russian energy, like China and India.

It also gives President Donald Trump flexibility for when to turn off some aspects of the sanctions.

Key changes to the newly unveiled package include adding a “national interest certification” for Trump’s sanction waiver authority and incorporating sanctions on the myriad ships and tankers that comprise Russia’s “shadow fleet” hauling energy exports under the radar.

Passing the sanctions package would, as Blumenthal noted, be emblematic of Graham’s career in Washington.

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And Rep. William Timmons, R-S.C., who grew to become a close friend of Graham’s, recalled the dozens of rounds of golf the pair played together in an interview with Digital shortly after Graham’s death.

He remembered Graham as someone who, if he considered you a friend, always encouraged you to keep going. It was service to the country, however, that was his prime focus, Timmons said.

“I just think that he was very much singularly focused on public service, whether it was the military or in Congress or as a senator,” Timmons said. “It literally was his entire life.”