Jane Graham Lynch nominated for religious freedom ambassador

Jane “Cissie” Graham Lynch, the granddaughter of evangelist Rev. Billy Graham, said she would be honored to serve as the U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom. Her nomination was among dozens sent to the Senate for approval, the White House said Monday. Lynch currently works as a senior adviser and ministry spokeswoman for Christian charity Samaritan’s Purse. She also currently hosts the Fearless Christian podcast. Lynch previously served on Trump’s Faith Advisory Council during his first term.

The ambassador position involves serving as the principal religious freedom adviser to the president and secretary of state and representing U.S. interests in diplomatic matters related to religious freedom. Trump in 2025 tapped former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker for the position, but the Senate failed to confirm him before the nomination expired.

Lynch said that if the Senate chose to confirm her as ambassador, she wanted people to pray that she would serve with excellence and protect religious liberty at every opportunity. Too many people around the world live without it, she said.

The Washington-based nonprofit Religious Freedom Institute also said it supported her nomination. Lynch’s father, Franklin Graham, said that she had traveled the world and studied the issue for years. She has broad knowledge of threats to religious freedom, he said.

Dig deeper: Read a report from myself and Daisy Sachoff on a Syrian Christian’s ongoing imprisonment.