Pentagon calls for Air Force to rename Charleston base after Sen. Lindsey Graham

The Pentagon is directing the Air Force to rename Joint Base Charleston after the late Senator Lindsey Graham, the move announced as dignitaries from around the world gathered in Washington to honor the four-term senator at his funeral.

In a memorandum titled "JB Charleston Renaming in Honor of Sen. Lindsey Graham," Air Force Secretary Troy Meink directed Air Mobility Command to take steps to convert the South Carolina base to Joint Base Lindsey Graham. The change, Meink wrote, honors Graham's decades of distinguished service to Congress and the Air Force. Graham spent more than six years as an active-duty Air Force lawyer and joined the Reserves in 1995, retiring in 2015. He was elected to the House in 1994 and the Senate in 2002.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and the White House rapid response account both amplified the news. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who won the state's Republican primary for governor in June, called the renaming a fitting tribute to a man who dedicated his life to serving the nation.

Graham's sudden death, which his staff attributed to a heart issue, stunned Washington and touched off jockeying over his replacement.