Sen. Lindsey Graham’s legacy will be forever remembered on Capitol Hill, all thanks to a surprising move from former Vice President Mike Pence.
Pence is calling on Congress to rename Graham’s signature Russia sanctions legislation after the late South Carolina Republican, telling Fox News there would be “no more fitting tribute” to one of the Senate’s most influential national security hawks.
There would be no more fitting tribute to Senator Lindsey Graham than for the Congress to take up that Russian Sanctions bill, put it on the President’s desk and have President Trump Sign it into Law.
Lindsey knew who we were dealing with in Vladimir Putin. Now is the Time to… pic.twitter.com/gVyhzCo5sX
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) July 15, 2026
In an exclusive interview with Fox News, Pence said Graham’s years-long push for tougher sanctions against Russia should become both his legislative legacy and a permanent reminder of his unwavering support for Ukraine and America’s allies.
During his talk, Pence argued Congress has a rare opportunity to honor Graham by passing the bipartisan sanctions package he spent years championing and sending it to President Donald Trump with the senator’s name attached.
“I also believe it’d be altogether fitting to put Sen. Lindsey Graham’s name on that bill,” Pence told Fox News.
“Send it to the president, have him sign it into law.”
Pence said Graham viewed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as one of the defining geopolitical challenges of the era and believed economic pressure was essential to forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate.
“He never had any illusions about who we were dealing with — with Vladimir Putin,” Pence said.
Pence, who has traveled to Ukraine twice since Russia’s invasion, said Graham understood that Ukraine represented “a frontier of freedom” and consistently pushed both Republican and Democratic administrations to stand firmly with America’s allies.
When asked whether the sanctions legislation could ultimately become Graham’s greatest achievement, Pence said it may well define how history remembers Graham.
“I think it could be,” Pence said.
Pence also pointed to Graham’s decades-long advocacy for Israel, Ukraine and a stronger NATO alliance, saying Graham remained remarkably consistent throughout his public career with foreign policy and America’s interests.
Pence said Graham also played an important role in encouraging NATO allies to increase defense spending during the first Trump administration, while remaining one of Israel’s fiercest advocates on Capitol Hill.
Pence also recalled his final interaction with Graham and one of their last conversations together that highlighted how he could blend a personal touch into someone’s life.
According to Pence, he and his wife Karen had just landed at Reagan National Airport and were making their way through the terminal when they spotted Graham heading toward another gate.
As he almost always did, Graham began by asking about Pence’s family.
Pence said Graham wanted updates on Pence’s son, a Marine Corps fighter pilot, and his son-in-law, a Navy fighter pilot. Pence said Graham never forgot to ask about them.
But after briefly catching up, the conversation shifted to the issue occupying Graham’s attention in his final months.
“We went straight into a conversation about Ukraine sanctions,” Pence recalled.
Pence said he learned of Graham’s death Sunday morning and remains deeply saddened by the loss of someone he first came to know during the Republican Revolution of the 1990s before serving alongside him in Congress and later in the Trump administration.
“I was taken aback by the news,” Pence said.
“I really, really have a heavy heart to this hour.”
Pence said he hopes lawmakers finish the work Graham dedicated years to advancing.
“I really do believe there would be no more fitting tribute to the life and vision of Senator Lindsey Graham than for Congress to pass and the president to sign the tough Russia sanctions bill,” Pence said.
“I’m going to continue to champion that in the days ahead.”