Trump asks Cissie Lynch, granddaughter of Billy Graham, to be religious freedom ambassador

Cissie Graham Lynch, the granddaughter of famed late Southern Baptist evangelist Billy Graham, said this week that President Donald Trump asked her to take up a key religious freedom position in his administration.

Lynch, whose father, Franklin Graham, leads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, revealed the news on X on Sept. 15, saying Trump had asked her to serve as U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

The role helps lead the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in the U.S. Department of State. Lynch on X said it would be “a great honor and privilege” to serve in the role.

“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.

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Lynch has remained active in the religious advocacy and aid networks started by her grandfather and continue to be run by her family.

She has served as an adviser to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and at Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian aid organization also led by Franklin Graham.

On Sept. 15 Franklin Graham said his daughter is “uniquely” qualified for the role, the duties of which include promoting religious freedom abroad and advising the U.S. government when that right is violated internationally.

The government says the religious freedom ambassador serves as “a principal adviser to the president and the principal adviser to the secretary of state regarding matters affecting religious freedom abroad.” The ambassador‑at‑large also has served as a nonvoting member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which has three vacancies yet to be appointed by the president.

Franklin Graham said his daughter has “traveled the world and been a student of this issue for many years” and has “a broad worldview and knowledge of the issues facing religious freedom today.”

“I couldn’t be more proud of her, and I ask you to pray that God would give her wisdom and strength,” Graham wrote.