World leaders, U.S. politicians from across the political spectrum and other officials gathered in Washington, D.C., to mourn Lindsey Graham, a prominent lawmaker from South Carolina who died suddenly earlier this month.

Graham’s D.C. memorials began in the U.S. Capitol rotunda Tuesday morning.

Graham’s remains were carried into the U.S. Capitol by an Armed Forces Body Bearer Team in tribute to his three decades of service in the Air Force. Though he did not lie in state Tuesday, a closed-to-the-public program in the U.S. Capitol honored his nearly quarter-century service in the Senate.

Past and former, Democratic and Republican U.S. lawmakers, Graham’s family and friends attended the ceremony Tuesday morning, with many walking past or touching the senator’s flag-draped casket.

Speakers U.S. Rep. Sheri Biggs, Vice President JD Vance and Senate Majority Leader John Thune reflected on Graham’s career in the U.S. Senate and his personal life.

“It didn’t matter to Lindsey whether an issue was popular or unpopular, whether he had the full support of his colleagues or whether he was standing alone,” Thune said. “If he believed he was in the right, he spoke up. He told things the way he saw them, and he didn’t mince words.”

Graham, Vance said, was well-liked by his colleagues, felt passionate about his work and made those around him laugh.

“When he walked into the Senate, this was a guy who couldn’t have stood more than 5-foot-6 or 5-foot-7, but he’d swashbuckle in with his jacket open like he was 6-foot-5,” Vance said. “He had an attitude to him, and it’s one of the reasons why Lindsey Graham was Lindsey Graham.”

Biggs, who represents the Graham’s hometown of Seneca in the House, also acknowledged his service in the Air Force and commitment to international U.S. allies.

“What made Lindsey exceptional was his ability to work on difficult issues while maintaining personal relationships with people who disagreed with him,” Biggs said. “He believed that conversations matter. He believed that showing up mattered, and he believed that leadership meant finding a way forward, even when the path was complicated.”

“And he was also very good at outsmarting the trolls, the armchair critics and the keyboard warriors,” she continued.

The memorial will continue at the Washington National Cathedral, . Among those who served as honorary pallbearers were Graham’s chief of staff Richard Perry, a longtime communications staffer Kevin Bishop and longtime campaign manager Scott Farmer

World leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are also expected to attend Graham’s funeral Tuesday.

Many prominent bipartisan public servants had state funerals at the Washington National Cathedral, including former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and Dwight Eisenhower.

Graham died suddenly July 11, two days after his 71st birthday, with a preliminary report indicating he died from an aortic dissection — a tear in the aorta— due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

He served in the U.S. Senate for more than two decades, holding powerful leadership roles and allies across the political spectrum. He was also elected to the U.S. House and South Carolina state House and served in the U.S. Air Force for 33 years.

Graham’s remains will travel for a final time to South Carolina Tuesday evening. Memorials will continue Wednesday with a public church service at the First Baptist Church of Columbia and a private family burial in Pickens County, where Graham grew up.

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