The late Sen. Lindsey Graham spent decades straddling Washington and the war room — and now the Pentagon wants his name on one of America’s key military bases.

The Defense Department is moving to rename Joint Base Charleston after the late South Carolina senator and Air Force veteran, honoring a lawmaker who maintained a rare connection to the military even while serving in Congress.

The base — one of the nation’s most important airlift hubs — could become Joint Base Lindsey Graham under a plan outlined in an internal memo obtained by The Post and Courier, Charleston’s local newspaper.

A C-17 Globemaster III aircraft flies over the Joint Base Charleston on March 19, 2026. Joint Base CharlestonSen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) died on July 11, 2026. Ron Sachs/CNP / SplashNews.com

Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink directed officials in a July 27 letter to work with Air Mobility Command and Joint Base Charleston leadership to take “all necessary and appropriate actions” to begin the renaming process.

The move honors Graham’s “decades of distinguished service to the United States Congress and the United States Air Force,” Meink wrote.

“Senator Graham’s lifelong devotion to the military was shaped by his own military service and his public service in both the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives,” the secretary said.

Graham, who died July 11, built a reputation in Washington as one of the Senate’s most outspoken defenders of the military — but his ties to the armed forces went far beyond casting votes on defense policy.

After graduating from law school, Graham spent 33 years in the Air Force, including active-duty assignments in the 1980s as a military lawyer and lead prosecutor for the Air Force’s felony case division at Germany’s Rhein-Main Air Base.

He later transferred to the South Carolina Air National Guard, where he continued serving until 2015 while rising through the political ranks.

During his time in Congress, Graham deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan — a rare distinction for a sitting lawmaker. He also traveled to conflict zones including Israel and Ukraine, returning from Kyiv shortly before his death.

Members of the Trump administration and family attending Graham’s funeral service in Washington, DC, on Tuesday. WILL OLIVER/EPA/Shutterstock

The proposed tribute also reflects Graham’s years of advocacy for South Carolina’s military installations. He helped direct hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding toward Joint Base Charleston and other defense priorities, while becoming a key player in the region’s emergence as a military and aerospace hub.

“Nobody visited more war zones, nobody met with more active-duty troops and nobody loved — with the exception, perhaps, of our president — the military more,” Fox News’ Sean Hannity said in his eulogy at Graham’s funeral on Tuesday.

Earlier this year, Graham helped secure $212 million for upgrades at the base, including improvements to its pier infrastructure and new medical and dental facilities.

“It is imperative this base has the necessary tools to protect South Carolina’s coastline and prevent deadly drugs, such as fentanyl, from reaching our shores,” Graham said at the time.

Darline Graham attending Lindsey Graham’s funeral service at the US Capitol on Tuesday, July 28. Win McNamee / Pool via CNP / SplashNews.com

Joint Base Charleston is home to more than 50 military commands and operates the nation’s largest fleet of C-17 cargo aircraft. It houses the Air Force’s 437th Airlift Wing and the Air Force Reserve’s 315th Airlift Wing.

The proposed name change drew immediate praise from South Carolina Republicans, Graham’s former colleagues and Republican gubernatorial nominee Alan Wilson, who said the move would recognize Graham’s decades of service to both the state and the country.

“Today’s announcement to rename Joint Base Charleston in honor of Senator Lindsey Graham is a fitting tribute to a man who dedicated his life to serving our nation and state,” Wilson said. “From his service in the Air Force to his years in Congress and the U.S. Senate, Lindsey answered the call to serve with honor. His legacy will live on for generations.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also shared the Post and Courier report on her X account.

But not everyone saluted the move.

Charleston Democratic state Sen. Ed Sutton, an Air Force veteran, told The Post and Courier that Graham deserved recognition but argued changing the name of the entire base without local input was “the wrong approach.”

Sutton said a new Coast Guard facility in North Charleston could be a more fitting tribute, given Graham’s recent efforts to secure funding for the Coast Guard mission.

“That would honor his legacy without erasing Charleston’s military tradition,” Sutton said.

The Air Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment.