US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) died Saturday following a brief illness at the age of 71, his office confirmed.
“On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness. Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” Graham’s office said on X on Sunday morning.
A cause of death was not immediately revealed.
Emergency officials responded to Graham’s home on Capitol Hill for a cardiac arrest, NBC reported, citing police scanner audio.
Graham, a staunch ally of President Trump, had just returned to the US after a trip to Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss the ongoing war against Russia.
The Seneca, South Carolina, resident has represented the Palmetto State in the US Senate since 2003, succeeding outgoing 100-year-old Strom Thurmond.
He held key positions in the upper chamber, including as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.
Before his four-term Senate career, Graham represented South Carolina’s third congressional district in the US House between 1995 and 2003.
Graham had served in the US Air Force as an active duty lawyer, retiring in 2015 as a colonel with the Air Force Reserves.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster described Graham as “irreplaceable” and the “fiercest of fighters.”
“Peggy and I—and our children—are devastated. Lindsey Graham is irreplaceable. The fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America—and a loyal and steadfast friend. We grieve with Darline, his family and his devoted staff. May God hold him gently in the palm of his hand. We shall not see his likes again,” McMaster wrote on X.
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