By SEUNG MIN KIM, MARY CLARE JALONICK and MEG KINNARDSunday July 12, 2026
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a stalwart of U.S. foreign policy and one of President Donald Trump’s closest congressional confidants, has died at 71 after what his office described as a “brief and sudden illness.” The South Carolina Republican’s family asked for prayers and privacy, the statement posted on social media said, without offering further details about his Saturday night death.
Trump, who called Graham “like a member of the family,” told NBC’s Meet the Press that Graham phoned him Saturday night after returning from Ukraine and “sounded a little bit tired, but perfect.” “It’s very tough,” the president added.
A prominent hawk on international affairs, Graham wielded considerable influence in Washington, counseling Trump on issues ranging from the Iran war to Russia. On Friday, he announced an agreement with the administration to advance a package of Russia sanctions.
As chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Graham played a central part in the legislative agenda during Trump’s second term, helping shepherd major party-line initiatives while Republicans held a narrow 53-47 Senate majority.
Under South Carolina law, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster will name a temporary successor to Graham, who was seeking a fifth Senate term in November.
Graham was close with Trump
First elected to the Senate in 2002 after serving in the House, Graham long championed a muscular U.S. military posture and strong national defense, a stance that increasingly diverged from the growing isolationist strain in his party.
Though he briefly challenged Trump for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination and at first blasted the then-New York businessman as “unfit for office,” Graham later became one of Trump’s most reliable allies. That shift followed a rocky public period in which Graham condemned Trump for attacks on his close friend, Arizona Sen. John McCain — a Vietnam veteran with whom Graham and Sen. Joe Lieberman once traveled as the “Three Amigos” to promote their foreign policy views.
During the 2016 campaign, Trump at one point read aloud Graham’s cell number at a rally and repeatedly derided him as Graham withheld support. After the election, Graham reversed course, speaking with the president frequently and accompanying him on the golf course, even as McCain maintained his criticism.
In a 2018 interview with The Associated Press, Graham credited McCain with teaching him to help the country move forward after an election, saying he felt an obligation to assist the incumbent. “I’ve tried to be helpful where I could because I think he needs all the help he can get,” Graham said then. “You can be a better critic when people understand that you
