Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) reportedly joked “I can’t die now” after complaining he felt unwell – hours before he passed away at the age of 71 from a suspected ruptured aorta brought on by chronic heart disease.
Graham’s office announced his death early Sunday – hours after his return from Ukraine, where he toured a secret military drone factory and sat down for talks with the war-torn country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
The senator, who was due to appear on Sunday’s episode of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” told someone close to him he was feeling unwell earlier Saturday, Axios reported.
“I can’t die now. I still need to do the Russia sanctions, get Iran sorted out and do Israeli-Saudi normalization,” the Trump ally quipped, according to the source.
Graham spoke with President Trump Saturday evening about his trip to Ukraine and the bipartisan Russian sanctions package the pol was trying to get through Congress alongside Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).
The measure would allow the Trump administration to slap hefty tariffs on nations fueling Vladimir Putin’s war machine via the purchase of Russian energy.
Blumenthal wrote on X Sunday that passing the bill would be a “fitting tribute” to his late colleague.
“I will forever remember our last lengthy conversation this weekend, when he exulted at reaching an agreement on our Russian sanctions bill & said, ‘this is a big effing deal—we all did good,’” the Democrat reminisced.
“He was tireless in pursuing freedom for Ukraine & brought to this cause his signature relentless energy & optimism,” added Blumenthal.
“He marched to his own drummer. He could be strong-minded, fiercely driven, & sometimes unpredictable, but also deeply compassionate & sympathetic when he saw suffering & injustice. I was always impressed with his kindness to people we met along the way.”
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said Sunday that he would put forward a Russia sanctions bill in the House of Representatives, while Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) suggested the package could be on Trump’s desk this week.
“I think, in his honor, that we owe it to Lindsey Graham to pass that tough Russian sanctions bill,” McCaul told ABC News’ “This Week.” “He would love nothing more than that.”
Graham, who was heavily favored to win re-election to a fifth Senate term in November, reportedly was also planning trips to Israel and Saudi Arabia to push for full normalization between the two Middle East powers before the new Congress is sworn in next year.
Saudi Arabia has long vowed it will not normalize relations with Israel until an independent Palestinian state is created, though the two governments have grown closer in the face of the threat from Iran.
Preliminary findings released by the DC medical examiner’s office indicated Graham died from “Aortic Dissection due to Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease.”
The condition refers to a tear in the body’s main artery and mostly affects older men, according to the Mayo Clinic. Actors John Ritter and Alan Thicke also lost their lives due to aortic dissection.
President Trump led tributes to Graham – describing the longtime pol as “one of the greatest people” he had known.
“He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social early Sunday.
But the two didn’t always see eye to eye.
Graham, like Trump, sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, at one point warning: “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed … and we will deserve it.”
After the election, however, the two became close political allies, with Graham emerging as an outspoken defender of Trump in the Senate, voting to acquit the president in two impeachment trials.
He also campaigned with Trump during the 2024 presidential race and was a key Trump ally on foreign policy and national security.
In recent months, Graham was one of the strongest Republican voices backing Trump’s decision to strike Iran, arguing the military action was necessary to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
“I have a lot of respect for President Trump. He is his own man,” Graham told Axios in February.
“And as with all presidents, he will be held responsible for his decisions on such weighty matters. As to me, history will be very clear as to where I stood, for better or worse.”
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