Washington was jolted by the sudden loss of one of the Senate’s most recognizable voices: US Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of President Donald Trump, died yesterday at 71 after what his office described as a “brief and sudden illness.”
“On the evening of Saturday, July 11, US Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness,” the Republican senator from South Carolina’s office said in a statement on his official X account.
“Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”
Mr Trump marked the news with an emotional tribute, calling Senator Graham “one of the greatest people” in a post on Truth Social.
Mr Trump said Mr Graham was “like a member of the family. It’s very tough”.
A decade ago, the South Carolina senator was among Mr Trump’s sharpest Republican critics, only to later stand firmly behind the billionaire president as he consolidated his grip on the party.
That loyalty briefly faltered after the 6 January, 2021 Capitol insurrection, when a pro-Trump mob stormed the seat of US democracy, but Mr Graham ultimately returned to Mr Trump’s orbit as a staunch ally.
The president said Mr Graham had phoned him on Saturday night after returning from a trip to Ukraine.
“He sounded a little bit tired, but perfect,” Mr Trump told NBC’s Meet The Press.
Graham’s rise began far from Washington: he grew up in Central, South Carolina, where his parents ran a restaurant and pool hall, and became the first in his family to attend college, according to his biography on the Senate website.
He later served as a military lawyer and reached the rank of Air Force colonel—an experience that helped shape his interventionist approach to foreign policy.
Mr Graham voted for military action against Iraq after the 11 September, 2001, attacks and went on to back a long-term US presence in Afghanistan.
He entered Congress in 1994 with election to the US House of Representatives, then won a Senate seat in 2002.
Lindsey Graham was widely seen as one of Donald Trump’s closest allies
He was later re-elected to the Senate in 2008, 2014 and 2020 and most recently served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.
In that post, Mr Graham became a pivotal figure during Mr Trump’s second term, as Republicans advanced major legislation on party-line votes while holding a narrow 53-47 majority in the chamber.
Under South Carolina law, Republican Governor of South Carolina Henry McMaster will appoint a temporary replacement for Mr Graham, who was seeking a fifth term in November.
Mr McMaster described Mr Graham as “irreplaceable” in a post on X.
“The fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America – and a loyal and steadfast friend,” McMaster said.
Tributes also arrived from abroad. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was deeply saddened by Mr Graham’s death, noting the senator met him in Kyiv as recently as Friday.
“He visited Ukraine ten times during the years of Russia’s full-scale invasion and was here with our people when it was most needed…America and the world have lost a determined leader,” Zelensky said in a Facebook post.
Senator Graham was also a strong supporter of Israel and a hawkish backer of the Iran war.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the news of Mr Graham’s death left him “shocked and heartbroken.”
“Senator Graham was a beacon of moral clarity and a true leader of the US-Israel partnership,” he said in a post on X.
“We will never forget how he stood by the people of Israel in our most difficult moments, and we will remain eternally grateful for his sense of justice, truth, and loyalty,” Mr Herzog said.
“The people of Israel mourn his loss, and I will miss my great friend very dearly.”
Additional reporting PA
