President Donald Trump nominated Cissie Graham Lynch — daughter of Rev. Franklin Graham and granddaughter of Rev. Billy Graham — to serve as ambassador at large for international religious freedom.
Lynch’s nomination to the position was on a list of dozens of nominations the White House sent to the U.S. Senate on Monday. Her father celebrated the news in a post to social media and called his daughter “uniquely qualified” for the position.
“Cissie is uniquely qualified for this—she has traveled the world and been a student of this issue for many years. She has a broad worldview and knowledge of the issues facing religious freedom today,” Franklin Graham said in a post to X. “If confirmed by the Senate, she will bring a passion for defending religious freedom to this office. I couldn’t be more proud of her, and I ask you to pray that God would give her wisdom and strength.”
Lynch responded to the nomination in a post to X and said filling the position would be a “great honor and privilege.”
“If confirmed by the Senate, please pray that I would serve with excellence and make the most of every opportunity to protect our most precious and fundamental right—and one that far too many people around the world still live without—freedom of religion,” she said.
While Lynch is well known as a member of the Graham family and for her work with Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, she has also carved her own path as an author and speaker, the Christian Post reported. Lynch also hosts a podcast called “Fearless” and spoke at the Rededicate 250 prayer event commemorating America’s 250th anniversary and at the 2020 Republican National Convention.
Her nomination must be approved by the Senate before she can assume the role. The current balance of power in the Senate is 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats, meaning she should be able to secure the position, even if only Republicans vote to confirm her.
The Trump administration nominated Lynch after their previous nominee, former Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC) was not confirmed by the upper chamber before the end of 2025. Walker was ultimately appointed to a different position at the State Department and works as the principal adviser for global religious freedom, according to the report.
As ambassador at large for international religious freedom, Lynch would be in charge of the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom. She would also serve as a top adviser to the secretary of state and the president on religious freedom abroad. The position was created in 1998 by the International Religious Freedom Act.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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