{"id":76067,"date":"2026-07-13T15:56:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/the-halls-of-the-senate-already-feel-empty-tearful-thune-honors-lindsey-graham-as-sister-takes-his-seat\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T15:56:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:56:28","slug":"the-halls-of-the-senate-already-feel-empty-tearful-thune-honors-lindsey-graham-as-sister-takes-his-seat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/the-halls-of-the-senate-already-feel-empty-tearful-thune-honors-lindsey-graham-as-sister-takes-his-seat\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The halls of the Senate already feel empty’: Tearful Thune honors Lindsey Graham as sister takes his seat"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Senate, there\u2019s a black veil covering a desk. On top there\u2019s a bowl of striking white roses. That\u2019s where Sen. Lindsey Graham,<\/a> R-S.C., used to sit.<\/p>\n

Senate Majority Leader John Thune,<\/a> R-S.D., pointed to that desk during an emotional tribute to the late Senator on Monday. Graham was a confidant, trusted advisor and friend to Thune. And through tears, he set about remembering the lawmaker who spent 30 years in Washington, D.C., making a mark on his state and country.<\/p>\n

“It’s difficult to believe that Lindsey Graham is no longer here with us,” Thune said. “That we won’t run into him at a meeting today or share a joke with him at this afternoon’s vote. The halls of the Senate already feel empty without him. And I know I’m not alone in that feeling.”<\/p>\n

GRAHAM’S DEATH IGNITES GOP SCRAMBLE FOR SENATE SEAT AS TRUMP HINTS HE ALREADY HAS A FAVORITE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

As Thune spoke about Graham, the late lawmaker\u2019s staff sat in the Senate chamber as tears filled the room. And since Thune became the leader of the Senate GOP,<\/a> you would oftentime see Graham enter his office just off the Senate floor.<\/p>\n

He was there to talk down Republican rebels who threatened to sink President Donald Trump\u2019s “big, beautiful bill,” and once earlier this year stormed into Thune\u2019s office declaring his resistance to a deal struck by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer,<\/a> D-N.Y., and the president to avert a government shutdown.<\/p>\n

But he was there, and Thune noted that “Lindsey was fearless in his commitment to the causes that he espoused.”<\/p>\n

SENATE RETURNS TO PACKED AGENDA AFTER GRAHAM’S DEATH SHRINKS GOP MARGIN<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“It didn’t matter to him whether he would catch flak on an issue,” Thune said. “He was undaunted by the politics if he believed he was right on the principle.”<\/p>\n

“Senator. Warrior. Patriot. Statesman,” Thune continued. “Words that will be written about Lindsey. But for me, most of all, Mr. President, he was my friend.”<\/p>\n

Shortly after Thune\u2019s tribute to Graham, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster officially tapped his sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to fill his seat for the remainder of his term. It\u2019s a move that Thune, Trump and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. backed.<\/p>\n

LINDSEY GRAHAM\u2019S SISTER APPOINTED TO SENATE AS GOP RUSHES TO PROTECT FRAGILE MAJORITY<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“I think this is what Lindsey would have wanted, and I plan to honor him in this way,” Nordone said at the ceremony. “Now to Lindsey, I miss you more than I can even put into words. But I’m going to do this, I got it.”<\/p>\n

Back in the Senate, Thune remembers Graham as a “staunch conservative and a fierce advocate for South Carolina,” but as a lawmaker who was willing to cross the aisle to find a solution. Through it all, Thune said that he would miss Graham\u2019s friendship and humor.<\/p>\n

“I am comforted by the knowledge that in the end, he has just changed his address. And that one day, Mr. President,” Thune said through tears. “We will laugh together again.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the Senate, there\u2019s a black veil covering a desk. On top there\u2019s a bowl of striking white roses. That\u2019s where Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., used to sit. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., pointed to that desk during an emotional tribute to the late Senator on Monday. Graham was a confidant, trusted advisor and … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76067\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}