Trump Nominates Billy Graham’s Granddaughter Cissie Graham Lynch for Religious Freedom Ambassador
President Donald Trump has nominated Jane "Cissie" Graham Lynch, the granddaughter of the late, legendary evangelist Billy Graham and the daughter of Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham, to serve as United States Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom.
Lynch, who serves as communications director for Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, called the opportunity a “great honor and privilege” after acknowledging the nomination, The Christian Post reported.
“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 wrote on X.
Her father, Franklin, celebrated the nomination on social media.
“President Donald J. Trump has nominated my daughter Cissie Graham Lynch to serve as the United States Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom. Cissie is uniquely qualified for this — she has traveled the world and been a student of this issue for many years,” Graham wrote. “She has a broad worldview and knowledge of the issues facing religious freedom today. 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 was one of the names (listed as Jane Lynch) among a list of nominations the White House sent to the Senate on Monday.
The United States Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, first created by Congress in 1998, is in charge of the Office of International Religious Freedom at the State Department and serves as principal adviser to the president and secretary of state on global religious freedom, as reported by Baptist News.
Lynch, author and a speaker in her own right, hosts the “Fearless” podcast and is the author of Stand Steady: Fearless Faith in a Compromising Culture, which releases next month. She previously spoke at the Rededicate 250 prayer event commemorating the U.S.’s 250th anniversary earlier this year, as well as the 2020 Republican National Convention.
Photo Credit: ©Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Committee via Getty Images
Originally published September 17, 2026.
