US Senator Lindsey Graham died at 71 after a brief and sudden illness, his office said. His death ends a powerful Republican career and opens a high-stakes South Carolina Senate contest.
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Washington, UPDATED: Jul 13, 2026 02:50 IST
US Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of President Donald Trump and one of the most influential Republican voices on foreign policy, has died after what his office called a brief and sudden illness. He was 71.
In a statement released on Sunday, Graham’s office said preliminary findings by the Medical Examiner of the District of Columbia showed that he died of aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The statement said this meant the aorta had been damaged or had developed a leak. It added that the death certificate would remain pending until toxicological and microscopic tests were completed, after which the cause of death and manner of death would be updated.
The statement posted on social media early Sunday said his family “appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period”. It did not give further details about the circumstances of Graham’s death on Saturday night. Trump, who said he spoke to Graham frequently, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the senator was “like a member of the family. It’s very tough” and that Graham had called him on Saturday night after returning from a trip to Ukraine and “sounded a little bit tired, but perfect”. Trump ordered flags across the country to be flown at half-staff until Saturday evening.
A former Air Force lawyer who served in Congress for three decades, Graham was a noted foreign policy hawk and an influential figure in Washington on global affairs. He had advised Trump on issues including the Iran war and Russia, and on Friday had announced an agreement with the Trump administration to move ahead with a package of Russia sanctions. As chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, he also played a central role during Trump’s second term as Republicans pushed major legislation with their narrow 53-47 majority in the chamber.
Graham, who was elected to the Senate in 2002 after serving in the House, long argued for robust US military intervention and strong national defence. His relationship with Trump started badly during the 2016 Republican presidential race, when Graham called him “unfit for office” and used a profanity after Trump made disparaging remarks about Arizona Republican John McCain, Graham’s closest friend in the Senate. Trump later read out Graham’s personal mobile phone number at a rally in South Carolina and continued to mock him during the campaign. But after Trump entered the White House, Graham became one of his closest allies and often spoke to him and appeared with him on the golf course.
In a 2018 interview with The Associated Press, Graham explained that shift by saying McCain had taught him that after elections the country had to move forward and that meant “you have an obligation” to help the president. “And I’ve tried to be helpful where I could because I think he needs all the help he can get,” Graham said of Trump. “You can be a better critic when people understand that you’re trying to help them be successful.” Graham later defended Trump during both of his first-term impeachments. He briefly appeared to break with Trump after the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, saying in a speech on the Senate floor, “Count me out. Enough is enough.” He soon returned to Trump’s side, and the two remained close during Trump’s second term.
Foreign policy remained central to Graham’s work. He had just returned from Ukraine, where he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy said Graham had visited Ukraine 10 times since Russia’s invasion in February 2022 and described him as “a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer”. Graham was also one of the chief backers of Trump’s war in Iran and had for years argued for direct c
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