Graham on the passing of Lewis: ‘He lived a consequential life’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C) praised the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) on Saturday, lauding the civil rights leader for maintaining “a passion for his causes until the very end.” 

“John Lewis was one of the strongest and most effective voices during the Civil Rights era and maintained a passion for his causes until the very end,” Graham tweeted Saturday.

“He lived a consequential life and worked hard to make America a more perfect Union,” Graham continued. “His voice will be missed. #RIPJohnLewis”

John Lewis was one of the strongest and most effective voices during the Civil Rights era and maintained a passion for his causes until the very end.

He lived a consequential life and worked hard to make America a more perfect Union.

His voice will be missed. #RIPJohnLewis

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) July 18, 2020

Condolences from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle flooded in Friday and Saturday following the news of the revered Georgia lawmaker’s death. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell called Lewis a “pioneering civil rights leader who put his life on the line to fight racism, promote equal rights, and bring our nation into greater alignment with its founding principles.” 

Fellow South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (R), the only black GOP senator, tweeted Saturday “I am deeply saddened by the passing of my good friend, @repjohnlewis. I’m grateful for his encouragement during my tenure in Congress. He welcomed me with open arms when I came to the House in 2011.”

“One of the great honors of my life was co-chairing the trip to Selma and the Edmund Pettus Bridge with John, on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday,” Scott recalled. “He was a giant among men; his life and legacy will continue to serve as an example for the generations to come.” 

I am deeply saddened by the passing of my good friend, @repjohnlewis. I’m grateful for his encouragement during my tenure in Congress. He welcomed me with open arms when I came to the House in 2011.

— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) July 18, 2020

I am deeply saddened by the passing of my good friend, @repjohnlewis. I’m grateful for his encouragement during my tenure in Congress. He welcomed me with open arms when I came to the House in 2011.

— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) July 18, 2020

Lewis spent a lengthy career advocating for civil rights, spending 17 terms in Congress representing an Atlanta-area district. He was beaten on “Bloody Sunday” on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., in 1965.  

President Trump shared Saturday that he is “saddened to hear the news of civil rights hero John Lewis passing” and said he and first lady Melania Trump are sending “our prayers to he and his family.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called Lewis “a titan of the civil rights movement whose goodness, faith and bravery transformed our nation” and a lawmaker who was “fearless in his pursuit of a more perfect union.”