Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) choked up on the Senate floor Monday as he remembered his friend and colleague Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who died unexpectedly over the weekend.
Graham’s empty desk on the Senate floor was draped in a black shroud and adorned with a bouquet of white roses as Thune delivered his remarks.
During his address, Thune said he relied heavily on Graham for a “steady flow of humor and encouragement” during their years serving together in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
“He always could make me laugh. Always,” Thune said.
Thune, speaking to a quiet chamber, turned to his faith to find comfort in the sudden loss of his colleague.
“If there is any light to be found in this grief, it is this: That, as a Christian like Lindsey, I know that death is not the end,” Thune said.
He then read a passage from the New Testament.
“The Apostle Paul writes, and I quote, ‘Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again. And so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him,’ end quote,” Thune said.
Thune also drew a parallel to another prominent figure sharing the late senator’s last name, quoting the famous evangelist Billy Graham.
“Or as another Graham once put it, and I quote, ‘Someday you will read or hear the Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive that I am now. I will just have changed my address. I’ll have gone into the presence of God,’ end quote,” Thune noted. “I will miss Lindsey’s friendship, Mr. President, more than I can say. We pray for his staff and for his family, whom he loved dearly, and who loved him dearly in return.”
Thune paused to hold back tears before finishing his tribute.
“But I am comforted by the knowledge that in the end, he has just changed address, and that one day Mr. President, we will laugh together again.”
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