The late Sen. Lindsey Graham was remembered Tuesday by President Donald Trump and others as a Senate technician and foreign policy powerhouse, as lawmakers joined world leaders and his loved ones during a Washington National Cathedral funeral service.

As the South Carolina Republican’s casket made its way into the massive chapel and bells rang through silence, Graham’s colleagues from his 31 years of service in the Senate and House stood solemnly. More than half the Senate was in attendance, joined by a few retired lawmakers, including former GOP Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio, Richard M. Burr of North Carolina and Roy Blunt of Missouri.

His eulogizers’ voices broke as they remembered the energetic, witty and affable Graham. That included Trump, who ended his tribute with words to his late friend not often heard from the hypermasculine chief executive: “We love you. God bless you. We will always be with you. And you were very, very special.”

A short time later, Emillie Boggs Roberts, the late senator’s niece, called him “the foundation of our family.”

“When you needed advice, a problem solved, or a helping hand, you turned to Lindsey,” she said. “Lindsey was always so supportive of me. That is just how he was — fiercely supportive, fiercely protective.”

Since Graham’s sudden death on July 11 from an aortic dissection, Senate Republicans and Democrats have described him as a workhorse who tirelessly pursued his hawkish views abroad and was, at times, willing to reach across the political divide. Once aligned with moderate GOP Sen. John McCain, who died in 2018, Graham more recently became a fierce Trump ally — despite his blunt criticism of candidate Trump during the 2016 presidential race.

Fox News host and Graham friend Sean Hannity joked, “Lindsey probably has a heavenly version of Mar-a-Lago. It may even be a little bigger. He may have a little more gold than the Oval Office in his mansion in heaven. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he added one big beautiful ballroom and an arch somewhere on the property.”

Trump delivered the first eulogy inside the packed cathedral for a man who became seen as his Senate fixer and a constant voice in his ear on foreign policy. The Senate was “a place that he cherished,” Trump said, adding “nothing could be more fitting” than his sister, Darline Graham, taking over his seat until his term expires in January.

“For more than 30 years, nothing of consequence happened in this capital without Lindsey Graham knowing about it. Nothing of significance happened anywhere in the world without Lindsey Graham having a view on it,” Trump said. “He was a man who gave America the full measure of his good and mighty heart — until that heart itself just gave out.”

Trump noted Graham’s hawkish views, saying “he never saw a war that he didn’t like” and “felt in his bones that our destiny is to win.” The president also revived a 2016 campaign moment, again giving out his former GOP primary foe’s phone number. 

“It was Lindsey who had the last laugh, because while I blew up his phone for one day, we became great friends — and Lindsey did not stop calling me for the next 10 years,” Trump said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were both in attendance, holding an extended conversation ahead of the ceremony and shaking hands on multiple occasions.  

The Senate on Tuesday evening is anticipated to begin voting on legislation Graham was shepherding to put greater sanctions on Russia — as well as Iran. The senator had been in Ukraine shortly before his death, where he’d met with Zelenskyy. 

While Trump has recently clashed with other Senate Republicans, he described Graham as “a master at maneuvering in one of the world’s great legislative bodies.” Trump noted his help last year as the Budget Committee chairman securing votes for Republicans’ sprawling tax and spending law.

“Got a lot of ‘Lindsey goodies’ in there too, I can tell you,” Trump quipped to laughter inside the cathedral.

It was a nod to how close the sometimes-golf partners and former GOP primary rivals had become, according to Aaron Cutler, a former top aide to House GOP leaders, who said in an email that Trump “didn’t just lose a Senate ally — he lost one of the fiercest champions of his agenda.”

‘Lindsey’s dream’

Graham spent much of 2017, the first year of Trump’s first term, explaining his transformation from Trump foe to ally. He often would say he viewed it as his job to work with any chief executive, no matter their political party, to pursue sound policy outcomes. 

In his final months, he enthusiastically trumpeted the president’s controversial and ongoing war with Iran — leaving the final chapter of the affable South Carolinian’s legacy unfinished.

Hannity on Tuesday defended Graham’s reputation as a hawk and staunch Israel ally who believed U.S. military intervention around the globe was not only just, but necessary. 

Netanyahu nodded enthusiastically as Hannity said, “just as President Trump has been Israel’s strongest friend in the history of the White House … Lindsey was that friend to Israel in the United States Senate.” Hannity argued the view among some critics that Graham was a “war-monger” was false. 

“The truth was the opposite,” the conservative commentator said. “Lindsey desperately wanted and talked to the president about a lasting peace in the Middle East. He wanted every region, every country in the region, on that path to peace. That was Lindsey’s dream,” said Hannity, who kissed Darline Graham on the cheek and shook the Israeli leader’s hand after his eulogy.

Graham was honored by evangelist Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse, as well as his hometown pastor Tim Tate of Corinth Baptist Church, who described him as a “friend” who “made things happen.” 

“I liked this guy, because he was like me,” Tate, who baptized Graham, said of the senator, remembering the time they met and the late senator was wearing a rumpled hoodie, “raggedy pair of khaki pants on” and a baseball cap to conceal his messy hair. 

During his tribute, Trump — who said he would “miss” Graham “greatly” and received a laugh from the invited guests when he noted that Graham “was not an early riser” — offered an example of the late senator’s sense of humor.

“When Sen. Tim Scott, a great gentleman in his own right, I can tell you,” Trump said, “invited him to a prayer breakfast at 8:30 a.m., Lindsey told him, ‘Tim, if Jesus himself comes back before 10 a.m., I ain’t going.’”

Graham ended up attending the breakfast.