00:00I am comforted by the knowledge that in the end, he has just changed his address.
00:10And that one day, Mr. President, we will laugh together again.
00:30Mr. President, I come to the floor today with a heavy heart.
00:42I look to my right and I see a desk which we in the Senate refer to and know as
00:48the John
00:50Calhoun desk. It's covered with a black shroud and on the top of that shroud is a bowl of
00:57white roses. That, Mr. President, is Lindsey Graham's desk.
01:04It's difficult to believe that Lindsey Graham is no longer here with us, that we won't run
01:10into him at a media day or share a joke with him at this afternoon's vote. The halls of
01:17the Senate already feel empty without him. And I know I'm not alone in that feeling.
01:25He was a friend to so many of us on both sides of the aisle. And I know that I'm
01:30not the
01:31only one who finds it difficult to imagine the Senate without Lindsey Graham.
01:36Mr. President, the events of Lindsey's life have been well documented over the past couple
01:40of days. His humble beginnings in South Carolina, sharing a single room with the rest of his
01:47family behind his family's bar. His guardianship of his younger sister, Darlene, after the untimely
01:56death of their parents. His long service in the Air Force, the South Carolina Air National
02:02Guard and the Air Force Reserve. His career in politics, first as a member of the South Carolina
02:10House of Representatives, then as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, where
02:15I served with him for six years. And then in the Senate, where he was just completing his
02:20fourth term. In the Senate, Lindsey distinguished himself as a staunch conservative and a fierce
02:27advocate for South Carolina. But also as someone who was willing to work across the aisle to
02:34find common ground and to reach solutions. A lawyer by trade, he serves as chairman of
02:41the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2019 to 2021, where he helped confirm a Supreme Court justice
02:47and numerous federal judges. The kind of judges who believe in following the law and the Constitution
02:55instead of legislating policy from the bench. Most of all, of course, Mr. President, Lindsey
03:02was known for his national security and foreign policy work. There was no bigger believer in
03:13America's role in the world. He was confident that the United States could be a force for good.
03:19And he gave everything he had to ensuring that we would be. He was a friend and defender of freedom
03:28-loving
03:29peoples all over the world. He stood with the Ukrainian people in their fight against Russian aggression.
03:36And he died with his boots on, having just returned from a trip to Ukraine, his tenth. He believed fiercely
03:45in the importance of a strong national defense, in ensuring that our country and our military
03:51men and women were always prepared to deter and defeat any threat. But while there was always
04:01a lot made of his support for American hard power, he was also a big believer in the use
04:08of soft power, economic, diplomatic, and political solutions to the world's problems. I was fortunate
04:18to travel with him all over the world, including to Israel after Hamas' October 7 attack. And I saw
04:25firsthand the work that he did to promote American security and the security of freedom-loving peoples
04:32around the globe. And of course, I don't need to tell anyone in this body that Lindsay was fearless
04:40in his commitment to the causes that he espoused. It didn't matter to him whether he would catch
04:46flack on an issue. He was undaunted by the politics if he believed he was right on the principle. Senator,
04:58warrior, warrior, patriot, statesman, words that would be written about Lindsay. But for me,
05:09most of all, Mr. President, he was my friend. Without friends, Aristotle said, no one would choose to
05:22live, I should say, although he had all other goods. And it's difficult to count the ways in which
05:29Lindsay's friendship made this job richer and its burdens lighter. Lindsay was as loyal as they come
05:40and a trusted advisor. I could always rely on him for straight-talking advice. He never minced words
05:49or pulled punches. I could also rely on him for a steady flow of humor and encouragement. He always
05:59could make me laugh. Always. In the last couple of years, he came to South Dakota twice. And twice we
06:06sat on the deck and watched the sun go down on Lake Hawaii. A familiar scene to me, but new
06:14to him.
06:16And as the stars came out, you could see the Milky Way overhead and you could hear coyotes howling and
06:26rooster pheasants cackling down below. Lindsay's wit punctuated all of it. And I will cherish those memories for a long
06:37time to come.
06:41Mr. President, if there is any light to be found in this grief, it is this, that as a Christian
06:46like Lindsay, I know that death is not the end.
06:51The Apostle Paul writes, and I quote,
06:55Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death.
07:01So that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope.
07:06For we believe that Jesus died and rose again.
07:09And so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
07:15End quote.
07:17Or as another Graham once put it, and I quote,
07:22Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead.
07:26Don't you believe a word of it.
07:28I shall be more alive than I am now.
07:32I will just have changed my address.
07:35I have gone into the presence of God.
07:38End quote.
07:41I will miss Lindsay's friendship, Mr. President, more than I can say.
07:46We pray for his staff and for his family, whom he loved dearly and who loved him dearly in return.
08:02But I am comforted by the knowledge that in the end, he has just changed his address.
08:13And that one day, Mr. President,
08:24we will laugh together again.
08:29Mr. President, heal the floor.
08:31Can't talk about the Massacentiometer.
08:31I see.
08:31...
08:32You
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