Audio By Carbonatix
Senator Lindsey Graham, who was first elected to represent his home state of South Carolina in the Senate in 2002 and played an influential role in shaping the foreign policy of Republican administrations over the last two decades, has died. He was 71.
Graham died Saturday night of a “brief and sudden illness,” his office said.
“Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” the statement said. Emergency medical technicians responded to a call for cardiac arrest at Graham’s home Saturday night, according to police scanner audio obtained by NBC News.
There were no indications Graham was ill and he was scheduled to appear on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday morning.
President Trump hailed Graham as “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known” in a Sunday morning Truth Social post.
Graham was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1994, before moving on to the Senate eight years later. He was chairman of the Budget Committee and was up for reelection to a fifth term in November.
As a leading Republican voice on defense and foreign policy, Graham was a stalwart advocate for the cause of Ukrainian independence and had visited Ukraine ten times since Russia invaded. He had just returned from a trip to Kyiv, where he met Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and of the values that make our world safer,” Zelensky said in a statement.
“He was a powerful advocate for America who believed strongly in the NATO Alliance and was actively working to bring an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.
Under South Carolina law, Governor Henry McMaster will appoint someone to fill Graham’s seat until January 3, 2027. In a statement mourning Graham’s passing, McMaster called him “the fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America — and a loyal and steadfast friend.”
Graham defeated multiple primary challengers in June, securing the Republican nomination for his South Carolina Senate seat for a fifth time. South Carolina Republicans must now find a replacement for Graham through a special primary which is expected to be held on August 11.
In addition to his work on behalf of Ukraine, Graham was also a staunch ally and defender of Israel.
Graham “devoted his life to defending America, strengthening our alliance and standing up for the free world,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend.”
Graham vied for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination that ultimately went to Trump. He made the case for a more interventionist foreign policy and derided Trump as a “demagogue.” Over the ensuing decade, Graham would become a close ally of the president’s.
In addition to promoting a more interventionist foreign policy, Graham made his mark in the Senate as a champion of the pro-life cause. As chairman of the Judiciary Committee in 2020, he played a key role in the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett following the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And while sitting on the committee in 2018, he vocally defended Justice Brett Kavanaugh from unsubstantiated allegations that he had sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford at a high school party decades earlier.