Darline Graham was officially sworn in as South Carolina’s new U.S. Senator. She took office less than three days after the death of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, her older brother.
The Republican will serve in the remaining months of the late Senator’s term until a new Congress is sworn in this January. In the absence of Vice President J.D. Vance, South Carolina’s junior Senator was sworn in by Senate Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican and the longest-serving member of the majority party.
Graham was accompanied at the ceremony by her husband, Larry Nordone, and family attended the event, but gone was the traditional pomp that normally accompanies new arrivals for members of Congress to Washington, D.C.
Wearing a light blue skirt suit and an American flag pin on her lapel, the new junior Senator for the Palmetto State arrives as no stranger to the Hill. She was long a close personal and political adviser to Lindsey Graham, and the only surviving member of his immediate family.
The Senator said little and did not immediately hold an availability with the press upon taking office. She was formally sworn in on the floor of the U.S. Senate, then walked with Grassley to the Old Senate floor for a ceremonial swearing-in before the media.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said he offered the position to Darline Graham on Sunday evening, a day after Lindsey Graham’s death from an aortic tear.
When she was appointed to the position, Graham gave brief remarks in Columbia.
“I know Lindsay was loved and respected by many, and I greatly appreciate the memories and even the funny stories that have been shared,” she said. “These shared experiences, along with our faith, have gotten us through these past two very difficult days.”
The new Senator appears in no hurry to shake up a Senate staff filled with many who served Lindsey Graham for years. She said she understood her brother’s commitment to the job and would preserve his legacy.
“I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the President and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States,” she said. “I know Lindsey thought the world of his staff and colleagues, and with their support, I feel confident.”
