▶ Watch Video: Sen. Lindsey Graham died of an aortic dissection, preliminary findings show
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, 71, died Saturday evening following a “brief and sudden illness,” his office said in a statement. His death came shortly after returning from a trip to Ukraine and ahead of a scheduled appearance on Sunday’s “Meet the Press.”
“Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” the South Carolina senator’s office said.
Graham’s spokesperson said Sunday afternoon the cause of death was aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to preliminary findings by the Medical Examiner of the District of Columbia. An aortic dissection is a life-threatening condition involving a tear in the main artery from the heart, due in this case to what is commonly known as hardening of the arteries.
A recording of an emergency phone call on Saturday evening responding to a residence belonging to the senator mentions a dispatch for cardiac arrest.
President Trump paid tribute to Graham, calling him “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known,” in a Truth Social post.
“He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed,” Mr. Trump said.
The president said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” he spoke with the senator Saturday evening, after he returned from Ukraine. “Other than being tired he was fine,” the president said.
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The prominent senator had been on a visit to Ukraine on Friday where he met with President Zelenskyy, who has since said he was “deeply saddened” by the news. Zelenskyy paid tribute to Graham’s 10 wartime visits to the country and his advocacy for Ukraine’s defense.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid tribute to Graham. “Sara and I grieve with the American people over the loss of our dear friend,” the prime minister said in a statement.
“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend,” Netanyahu said.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said in a social media post he was “shocked and heartbroken to learn of the sudden passing of the great American patriot, a great friend of Israel, and my dear friend.”
Graham was born in Central, South Carolina, on July 9, 1955. Both of his parents died when he was in his early 20s, leaving him to serve as legal guardian for his 13-year-old younger sister, Darline.
He attended University of South Carolina for his undergraduate degree and stayed on for a law degree. After a stint as a military lawyer and a few years of private law practice, he served one term in the South Carolina House of Representatives. Two years later, he was elected to the U.S. House, representing South Carolina’s 3rd District.
He ran for the Senate seat once occupied by Strom Thurmond in 2002, and won reelection three times by fairly robust margins. Even in 2014, when outside conservative groups threatened him with a primary challenge for his role in the 2013 immigration debate, no serious challenger emerged on the Republican stage. In 2020, he defeated Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison by more than 10 points despite his opponent raising $25 million more than him.
Graham was always an outspoken hawk on foreign policy matters, including on Iran, and earlier this month he came out against the initial contours of the memorandum of understanding Mr. Trump signed with the country. He also favored a hardline policy toward Russia, especially after the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
His foreign policy views brought him close to two hawkish former giants of Congress, GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Democratic-turned-independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut — a trio that was dubbed “the three amigos.” He also counted former President Joe Biden, who served with Graham in the Senate, as a friend at one point though their relationship frayed during Biden’s presidency.
The South Carolina Republican was known in the Senate for working across the aisle, and was a key player in a number of major bipartisan agreements. Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia paid tribute to Graham Sunday, saying: “Lindsey and I disagreed on plenty over the years, but I never doubted his love for this country or his commitment to serving it. ”
“He was a fierce advocate for the causes he believed in, especially our nation’s security and the men and women of our armed forces,” Warner said.
Graham was initially a staunch critic of Mr. Trump and the ascendant, conservative Tea Party movement. In 2016, after his own short-lived presidential run came to an end, he once warned on social media that if his party nominated Mr. Trump, “we will get destroyed……and we will deserve it.”
But Graham later mended his relationship with Mr. Trump and became a close ally and defender of the president. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he helped steer Mr. Trump’s first-term Supreme Court picks — Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — through contentious Senate confirmation hearings.
Despite briefly breaking with the president after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots — “count me out, enough is enough,” he said on the Senate floor — he sought to remain in Mr. Trump’s good graces. Once referring to himself as the president’s “north star,” Graham pressed Mr. Trump in recent months to impose more intense sanctions against Russia and maintain a hard line against Iran.
“Let’s try a diplomatic solution. I think it’s going to fail. What happens next?” he said of talks with Iran on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” just three weeks ago, a couple days after spending four and a half hours with the president. “To all the people listening, if this diplomatic effort fails, President Trump is going to take the Strait of Hormuz. We’re going to run it.”
Under South Carolina state law, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster will appoint an interim replacement for Graham’s seat, who will serve until January 3, 2027. Since Graham’s seat was up for reelection this year, the next senator will be elected in the existing midterms on November 3, 2026.