President Donald Trump has nominated Jane “Cissie” Graham Lynch, the daughter of evangelist Franklin Graham and granddaughter of the late Billy Graham, to serve as U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.
The White House formally sent Lynch’s nomination to the Senate on Sept. 14, listing the North Carolina resident under her legal name, Jane Lynch. The position requires Senate confirmation.
Lynch publicly acknowledged the nomination Tuesday, calling it “a great honor and privilege.”
“If confirmed by the Senate, please pray that I would serve with excellence,” she wrote in a post on X, adding that she hoped to help protect freedom of religion for people around the world.
If confirmed, Lynch would lead the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom and become a principal adviser to the president and secretary of state on religious liberty abroad. The ambassador is responsible for advancing freedom of religion, denouncing violations and recommending U.S. responses when foreign governments or other actors restrict that right.
The office was established by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. Under federal law, the ambassador can represent the United States in talks with foreign governments and international organizations and helps prepare the State Department’s annual report on religious freedom. The ambassador also serves as a nonvoting member of the independent U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Lynch has worked with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse since 2010. She currently serves as a senior adviser and ministry spokesperson and hosts the “Fearless with Cissie Graham Lynch” podcast, which discusses faith, family and cultural issues from an evangelical Christian perspective.
She has also been active in Trump’s political and faith outreach. Lynch served on the executive evangelical advisory board connected to Trump’s Faith Advisory Council during his first term and delivered a prime-time address at the 2020 Republican National Convention.
Franklin Graham, who leads both the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse, praised the nomination and said his daughter has traveled widely and studied religious freedom issues for years.
“If confirmed by the Senate, she will bring a passion for defending religious freedom to this office,” Graham said in a statement on X.
The Religious Freedom Institute also welcomed the selection. Its president, David Trimble, called the post an important part of U.S. foreign policy and urged the Senate to conduct its confirmation process with “due diligence and expediency.” The organization pointed to repression and religiously motivated violence in countries including China, Nigeria, Syria and Nicaragua as issues likely to face the next ambassador.
Trump previously nominated former Republican Rep. Mark Walker of North Carolina for the job in April 2025, but the Senate did not confirm him before his nomination was returned. Walker later joined the State Department as principal adviser for global religious freedom.
The ambassador position has been without a Senate-confirmed officeholder since the start of Trump’s second term. Rashad Hussain held the post under President Joe Biden. Former Kansas governor and U.S. senator Sam Brownback served in the role during Trump’s first administration.
Lynch’s nomination now moves to the Senate, where she would typically receive a committee hearing and vote before the full chamber considers confirmation.
