Darline Graham Nordone, the sister of the late Lindsey Graham, has been sworn in to succeed him in the U.S. Senate.
Nordone was visibly emotional on Tuesday, wiping away tears after stopping at her brother’s Senate desk, which had been covered with a black mourning drape ahead of the ceremony.
Her appearance on the Senate floor was brief. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa administered the oath, formally installing her to serve the remainder of her brother’s term representing South Carolina. Graham died suddenly on Saturday at the age of 71.
Tim Scott, Graham’s longtime friend and now Nordone’s fellow Republican senator from South Carolina, stood beside her as she took the oath. Nordone did not deliver remarks after the swearing-in.
While it is not unusual for relatives to be chosen to fill the seat of a deceased officeholder, Nordone, 62, is believed to be the first sibling ever to enter the Senate through such an appointment.
Previous family appointments have involved spouses or children of the lawmakers being replaced.
Among Nordone’s new Republican colleagues is Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who was appointed by her father, Frank Murkowski, after he stepped down from the Senate to run for governor.
Another recent example is House Republican Julia Letlow, this year’s GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate in Louisiana, who won a special election to fill the seat of her late husband, Luke Letlow, after he died of COVID-19 in 2021 before taking office.
Darline Graham Nordone wiped away tears after visiting her late brother Lindsey Graham’s desk as she was sworn in to fill his Senate seat in Washington, DC, on Tuesday
The 62-year-old was sworn in by Senator Chuck Grassley, who serves as the president pro tempore of the body. Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina looked on
Nordone signs paperwork ahead of commencing her role in the Senate
With support of President Donald Trump, South Carolina Republican Governor Henry McMaster appointed Nordone to finish out Graham’s term, which expires in January.
To fill the seat permanently, the Republicans have a primary scheduled for August 11. That contest will advance to a runoff on August 25 if no single candidate wins a majority of votes.
Graham’s sister told reporters that it was ‘a privilege’ to help finish Graham’s ‘important work.’
‘My brother was the most amazing person, outstanding leader, and just a genuinely good man,’ she said.
‘I think this is what Lindsey would have wanted, and I plan to honor him in this way.’
President Trump commended the decision to pick Nordone, saying the appointment is a ‘fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly.’
Nordone and Graham enjoyed a close relationship. He adopted her at the age of 22 when she was just 13, after the passing of both of their parents. She has never served in public office before.
The siblings grew up sharing a single room behind the Sanitary Cafe, the bar, pool hall, and liquor store their parents ran on Main Street in the small town of Central, South Carolina.
Nordone, with South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, far right, and Senator Tim Scott, far left, after she was announced as her brother’s replacement on Monday
Nordone and Graham had a close relationship. Above, on the day of his presidency bid in 2015
The family later moved into a trailer and then a house next door to the bar.
Nordone leaned on her big brother long before they were orphaned, running to him whenever she was sick or stuck on her homework.
He taught her to ride a bike, sprinting alongside and shouting encouragement, and picked her up when she fell.
‘He’s kind of like a brother, a father and a mother rolled into one,’ she told the New York Times in 2015.
Their mother died of Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1976, and a heart attack claimed their father a little more than a year later.
Nordone moved in with an aunt and uncle while Graham finished his studies at the University of South Carolina.
He gave up his weekends to travel home and care for her while his classmates stayed on campus to enjoy themselves.
President Trump said her appointment is a ‘fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly’
Then-presidential candidate Graham, accompanied by his sister, left, at the GOP headquarters in Columbia, South Carolina, in 2015
He then enlisted in the Air Force, where his guardianship of Nordone allowed her to qualify for his benefits, and she has credited him with getting her through high school and on to college.
She went on to become a mother of two and built a career helping people with disabilities find work, a success her brother wore as a badge of honor.
‘Of all the things that have happened in my life, her turning out so well is the highlight of it by far,’ Graham told C-SPAN in 2015.
Nordone introduced him on stage when he launched his White House bid in their hometown in 2015.
‘Lindsey was always my parent,’ she said at the time. ‘There was no doubt in my mind or anyone else’s mind that Lindsey was my guardian.’
Graham, Nordone and their parents, Millie Walters Graham and Florence James ‘FJ’ Graham. Their mother died of Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1976, and a heart attack claimed their father a little more than a year later
Nordone tearfully recalled the day they were left orphaned in an ad for Graham’s re-election campaign in May
The vacancy for South Carolina’s Senate seat was created by Graham’s unexpected death, which was announced just after 2am Eastern time Sunday morning.
Per a statement issued by his office just before 5pm that day, ‘aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease,’ was the cause of death.
‘The death certificate will be PENDING until all the toxicological and microscopic testing are finalized, and at that point the death certificate will be updated to reflect the cause of death and appropriately classify the manner of death,’ Graham’s spokesman added.
A 911 call for ‘cardiac arrest’ was placed from Graham’s residence around 8.30pm on Saturday evening.
