{"id":218577,"date":"2026-07-28T15:38:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T15:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/live-updates-trump-meeting-separately-with-zelenskyy-and-netanyahu-d-c-bids-farewell-to-lindsey-graham-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T15:38:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T15:38:14","slug":"live-updates-trump-meeting-separately-with-zelenskyy-and-netanyahu-d-c-bids-farewell-to-lindsey-graham-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/live-updates-trump-meeting-separately-with-zelenskyy-and-netanyahu-d-c-bids-farewell-to-lindsey-graham-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Live updates: Trump meeting separately with Zelenskyy and Netanyahu; D.C. bids farewell to Lindsey Graham – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The president will also deliver remarks at Graham\u2019s funeral this afternoon.
Zelenskyy left the White House at 10:41 a.m. after meeting with Trump, and Netanyahu arrived just minutes later, at 10:56 a.m.
<\/span>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the White House today.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Andrew Harnik \/ Getty Images<\/span>
Graham’s sister, Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., is among those gathered in the Capitol Rotunda this morning to honor the late senator. Graham, who was appointed to serve the rest of her brother’s term, was visibly emotional, with a tissue in hand, when his casket arrived.
In addition to Vice President JD Vance and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who delivered tributes to Graham at the Capitol, attendees include Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, United Nations Ambassador Mike Waltz and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
Vice President JD Vance paid tribute to Graham at the Capitol, remembering his former colleague as someone who “loved people from all walks of life.”
Vance said that Graham was someone who was “fascinated” by everyone, and he believed that was because he loved them.
Vance also recalled Graham’s “world-class sense of humor,” discussing a time when Graham made Vance laugh so hard that he got abdominal cramps.
The vice president also said he did not believe that Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh would have been confirmed to the high court without Graham’s advocacy.
“I believe that he saved that nomination,” Vance said.
Vance remembered Graham as someone “who could disagree with you without being disagreeable.”
“I choose to remember Lindsey Graham as a person who could fight with you on one issue, but fight for you on another issue,” he said. “I remember Lindsey Graham as a man who loved people, and because he loved people, he was willing to reason with them, to respect them and ultimately to persuade them.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., hailed Graham as a “towering figure” both in Congress and “on the international stage.”
Thune noted how Graham connected with foreign leaders and U.S. service members when they traveled in congressional delegations together.
<\/span>Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Heather Diehl \/ Getty Images<\/span>
“Lindsey’s work on these issues would be enough to cement his place as a leader in the Senate, but he was a leader on many other issues too,” said Thune, who credited his late colleague with helping to bring tax cut legislation to the floor when he chaired the Senate Budget Committee.
Thune said Graham was a “powerful voice for the pro-life movement” and was a “fierce defender of Ukraine.”
“There was no one \u2014 no one \u2014 who took his job more seriously than Lindsey Graham,” Thune said. “But also, no one was more capable of cracking up a room during the workweek here in Washington.”
“The conversation and the laughs always flowed at any meal where Lindsey Graham was present,” he added, “He was entertaining always, and pretentious never.”
“To Lindsey, rest in peace, my friend,” Thune said at the end of his tribute, pausing to collect himself. “I look forward to the days when you make us all laugh again.”
Rep. Sheri Biggs, R-S.C., delivered a tribute to Graham at the Capitol ceremony, emphasizing his love for his home state and saying he “never forgot where he came from.”
Biggs remembered Graham as someone who was authentic and had a quick wit and reflected on his legacy of service.
“A legacy is not built only through votes, legislation or headlines,” she said. “A legacy is built through the lives touched, the relationships formed, and the focused mission to make a difference over time.”
“Lindsey Graham’s legacy is one of service to South Carolina, to our nation and to the calls of making the world a safer and better place,” Biggs said. “He spent his life standing for something larger than himself, and that commitment will continue to be remembered by those who had the privilege of knowing him and by generations who will benefit from his service.”
<\/span>Rep. Sheri Biggs, R-S.C., walks past Sen. Darline Graham Nordone, R-S.C., and her husband Larry Nordone, during the ceremony in the Rotunda.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Win McNamee \/ Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/span>
Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy has begun, according to the White House.
Zelenskyy also plans to attend the funeral service for Graham, who died shortly after returning to the U.S. from visiting with the Ukrainian president in Ukraine.
Graham’s casket was brought into the Capitol Rotunda by military personnel. His casket was draped in an American flag and laid on a black podium.
Lawmakers and other mourners, many dressed in black, watched in silence.
<\/span>The casket of Sen. Lindsey Graham in the Capitol Rotunda this morning.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Frank Thorp V \/ NBC News<\/span>
Dr. Anthony Fauci served seven administrations as a public health expert and detailed much of his experience publicly. But journal entries a Republican senator published this week offer new details about how the administrations of Trump and Joe Biden handled their Covid diagnoses.
Read the full story here.<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu today marks the first time that the two leaders are meeting in person since they started the war with Iran on Feb. 28.
Their last in-person meeting was at the White House on Feb. 11, and the two met half a dozen times in person the year before.
The two leaders often praise each other, with Netanyahu repeatedly calling Trump \u201cthe greatest friend that the state of Israel has ever had in the White House\u201d and Trump calling Netanyahu \u201cgreat\u201d as recently as yesterday on Air Force One.
But they have had disagreements as the war stretches on. Yesterday, Trump told reporters that the two have “a little difference” on the military operations in Iran, but said their positions are still “pretty close.”
Trump said this month that they have a “really great” relationship, though he conceded that they “have little disputes.”
In June, Axios reported<\/a> on a tense phone call between Trump and Netanyahu over Israel’s escalation in Lebanon, which threatened to derail the U.S. talks with Iran. Trump confirmed the gist of the call to the New York Post in an interview a couple of days later,
\u201cI did,” Trump said in the interview when asked if he had angrily confronted Netanyahu over the strikes in Lebanon. “I wouldn\u2019t say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon, you know, at some point I said, \u2018Bibi, we gotta stop this, we gotta stop it.\u2019 But I have a very good relationship. We\u2019ve done well, done well together.\u201d
Trump has declined to say whether he supports Netanyahu for re-election, saying this month that Netanyahu has “been a great wartime president.”
“I don\u2019t know anything about his politics, I\u2019m not sure,” Trump said this month. “I would think he should be popular, because he did a very good job.”
Pulte said in a post to X that his office is making another round of layoffs today, which will ultimately cut the office by about a third.
<\/span>Acting intelligence chief Bill Pulte.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Stefani Reynolds \/ Bloomberg via Getty Images file<\/span>
“Good News!” he posted to X. <\/a>“In addition to the Historic DECLASSIFICATIONS (Transparency!) by the President, we are, this morning, Executing a 5th and Near Final Round of TERMINATIONS, an approximately 30% Staff Reduction from Weeks Ago. The Intelligence Community must protect the American people, NOT the political whims of the bloated and corrupt elite class.”
Pulte’s post comes the same day that the Senate is expected to hold a final confirmation vote on Clayton to take over the nation’s top intelligence post. The Senate voted to advance to Clayton’s nomination for director of national intelligence last night.
NBC News reported<\/a> last month that terminations were taking place at the office.
Vice President JD Vance will deliver remarks this morning during the first ceremony for Graham, which takes place at the Capitol.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Rep. Sheri Biggs, R-S.C., will also speak.
The ceremony is private but will be livestreamed. It will also feature musical tributes from the U.S. Army Brass Quintet and the Air Force chorus the Singing Sergeants.
Several members of Congress, as well as Vance, will present wreaths. Those lawmakers include Thune, Biggs, Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Rep. Haley Stevens used the word \u201ccelebrity\u201d \u2014 or variations of it \u2014 at least five times in Michigan\u2019s Democratic Senate debate<\/a> last night. It was not intended as a compliment for her rival in next week\u2019s primary, former public health official Abdul El-Sayed.
<\/span>Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., and Abdul El-Sayed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span> CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images; AP file<\/span>
Again and again, Stevens tried to brand El-Sayed, who also has written books, hosted a podcast and developed a large social media following, as a lightweight.
\u201cLook, my opponent here, Abdul. He is such a talented guy. He\u2019s written three books. He\u2019s had 300 podcasts. You know, he\u2019s had all this attention,\u201d Stevens said during the debate, hosted and broadcast by WJBK-TV in Detroit. \u201cBut the deal is, we don\u2019t need a celebrity candidate. We don\u2019t need a celebrity senator. We need somebody who is committed to six years of hard, unglamorous work that\u2019s going to stand up to this junk that is wreaking havoc and causing chaos right before our very eyes.\u201d
Several times, El-Sayed responded with a line he first offered in his opening statement.
\u201cLike I told all the viewers at the outset \u2014 that while my opponent was going to make this about me and her, I want to make this about you,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can listen to the podcast. It\u2019s there, Congresswoman. If you enjoy podcasts about public health, I welcome you to take a listen. You seem very concerned about that.\u201d
He also often tied his rejoinders back to Stevens\u2019 support from the political arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and his suggestion that she would be beholden to pro-Israel interests. A political action committee affiliated with AIPAC has spent tens of millions of dollars on Michigan\u2019s airwaves to promote Stevens\u2019 candidacy while attacking El-Sayed.
\u201cI\u2019m more concerned about the fact that people can\u2019t pay for their gas, they can\u2019t pay for their groceries,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re fighting a war that\u2019s cost us billions of dollars that has been pushed by the government of a foreign country, the same foreign country that the folks paying for your ads want us to send billions of dollars to.\u201d
The winner of the Aug. 4 primary will advance to the general election against former Rep. Mike Rogers, who is unopposed for the Republican nomination.
A bipartisan group of senators will meet with Zelenskyy in the Capitol at 6 p.m. today, according to three sources familiar with the meeting. It\u2019s not clear which senators will attend.
Later in the evening, senators will vote to start the process to consider the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill, a process that could drift into next week barring a time agreement to move more quickly.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has called the bill \u201cone of the worst bills ever presented to Congress,\u201d says he will lift his objection to moving quickly if he gets an amendment vote.
\u201cI\u2019ve told them that if they will allow me an amendment to strip out the tariff part of it then I\u2019ll let them condense time so they can go through the bill this week,\u201d Paul told NBC News yesterday.
The Senate is expected to confirm Clayton\u2019s nomination to be Trump\u2019s director of national intelligence tonight.
Clayton will replace Pulte, a close Trump ally and former top housing official who has been serving as acting intelligence chief. Pulte announced last night<\/a> he had led a fourth round of lay-offs.
The Senate could vote to extend Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702, which provides authority to conduct warrantless surveillance of non-U.S. persons living abroad, after they confirm Clayton. Getting Pulte out of the acting DNI job was the what Democrats are requiring to provide their votes to extend the intelligence gathering tool.
But even if they do that, the House is out of session until the end of August, so the program is expected to go another month without congressional authorization.
Trump is expected to meet with Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House today in a high-stakes sit-down that comes at a politically fraught moment for the Israeli prime minister.
The two leaders will discuss the war with Iran, the framework agreement <\/a>for peace in Lebanon and efforts to expand the Abraham Accords, a White House official said. Trump will also meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war, the official said.
Read the full story here.<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
Trump, congressional colleagues and world leaders today will say their final goodbyes to Sen. Lindsey Graham, the influential and colorful foreign policy hawk whose sudden death this month at age 71 stunned Washington and reverberated in capitals around the globe.
Two days of ceremonies and funeral services will begin around 10 a.m. ET when Graham\u2019s casket arrives at the Capitol for a brief ceremony in the rotunda that will include nods to both his military service and his more than three decades in Congress.
Read the full story here.<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
NBC News<\/p>\n

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The president will also deliver remarks at Graham\u2019s funeral this afternoon.Zelenskyy left the White House at 10:41 a.m. after meeting with Trump, and Netanyahu arrived just minutes later, at 10:56 a.m.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the White House today.\u00a0Andrew Harnik \/ Getty ImagesGraham’s sister, Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., is among those gathered in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":218578,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-218577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}