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(Bloomberg) — US lawmakers and senior administration officials remembered the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham at a memorial in the US Capitol Tuesday morning ahead of a funeral later in the day at Washington National Cathedral.
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The memorial for the hawkish South Carolinian, who died at 71 earlier this month, comes at a critical time for two of his key legacies — the war against Iran and his fight to secure fresh sanctions targeting Russia as the war in Ukraine persists.
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And it has brought world leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to Washington to pay their respects and discuss urgent business with lawmakers and President Donald Trump.
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Graham had a unique role in Washington given his relationship with Trump — honed in numerous games of golf and behind-the-scenes meetings — as well as his global Rolodex built over decades of frequent travel and his relationships in the Capitol with top lawmakers in both parties.
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“It was impossible not to like Lindsey Graham,” said Vice President JD Vance at a memorial service in the Capitol Rotunda, where Graham’s flag-draped casket was flanked by an honor guard. Vance recalled their relationship remaining friendly despite an intense disagreement over funding Ukraine’s war effort against Russia when Vance served as a senator from Ohio, and Graham’s earlier help fundraising for Vance in a Fox News appearance.
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Trump, who will speak at the National Cathedral later in the day, said in a Fox News interview that Graham “was born to be a politician” and was “a very powerful force when he got behind something.” He noted Graham’s hawkish nature.
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“I said ‘you’re a nice guy. How come you like war so much?’ He was a guy that liked war. I jokingly say, and it’s nothing funny about it, but he’s never seen a war that he didn’t like.’”
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Graham’s out-sized influence in Trump’s White House and global capitals included years of agitating for action against Iran’s theocratic leadership, ultimately winning a behind-the-scenes struggle against other presidential advisers counseling against the war earlier this year.
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But the war in Iran raised global energy prices and dragged on without end, as Trump’s early boasts about a quick end turned out to be wrong and a ceasefire spearheaded by Vance to reopen the Strait of Hormuz unravelled earlier this month. The Trump administration now appears stuck in the sort of Middle East military quagmire its officials had warned against, with the prospect of more economic pain to come just before the midterm elections.
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Documentary footage released over the weekend on CNN by filmmaker Alex Holder showed Graham talking in a celebratory way about convincing Trump to start the war.
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“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done,” Graham said in the clip.
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