Sen. Lindsey Graham, the longtime Republican from South Carolina who was a staunch ally of President Trump and appeared to be cruising to a fifth term, died suddenly late Saturday, his congressional aides announced.
Mr. Graham, 71, had just returned from a trip to Ukraine and was back at his home in Washington ahead of a planned appearance on a Sunday talk show and the Senate’s return to business this week.
His death could complicate the passage of two important measures: a key Russia sanctions bill and a budget resolution that would enable the passage of the voter ID bill known as the SAVE America Act. It may also make it harder to confirm Mr. Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Todd Blanche.
According to a preliminary medical examiner’s finding shared by his office, Mr. Graham died of a rupture in his aorta, related to hardening in his arteries.
An official cause of death will be disclosed after toxicological and microscopic testing.
The announcement on the senator’s official X account said his family “appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”
SEE ALSO: Tributes flood in after sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham
Separate audio recordings obtained from NBC News and journalist Dave Statter indicate that Mr. Graham had reported chest pains Saturday night. A dispatcher directed emergency workers to respond to a “cardiac arrest” incident at his home on Capitol Hill.
Emergency workers can be heard on the audio reporting that they had trouble entering the home because the door was locked.
They requested that the Metropolitan Police Department help them gain entry before they started efforts to resuscitate the senator.
Mr. Graham’s death shocked Washington while setting off a scramble among Republicans to fill his Senate seat.
Mr. Graham, who served a total of 33 years as an Air Force lawyer across active duty, the Air Force Reserve and the South Carolina Air National Guard, easily won the Republican primary in June, beating his nearest opponent, Mark Lynch, by 28 percentage points.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, can appoint a temporary replacement to fill the remaining five months of Mr. Graham’s fourth term and must set a speedy primary to determine which Republican will replace Mr. Graham on the November ballot.
SEE ALSO: Rep. Nancy Mace pondering Senate run to fill Sen. Lindsey Graham’s seat
The winner would face off against Democratic nominee Annie Andrews.
The race had been rated “solid Republican” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, meaning Mr. Graham was expected to win in November.
A list of Republican hopefuls was emerging Sunday. Among them was Rep. Nancy Mace, who recently lost her bid to win South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial primary.
Mr. Trump, appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said he was considering a replacement for Mr. Graham on the ballot, but he did not identify his choice.
“I have somebody I like,” he said. “I’m not going to tell you who now because it’s too soon.”
Mr. Graham died after a multiday trip to Ukraine, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and visited a drone facility that was producing new weapons in its war to stop invading Russia.
Mr. Graham long advocated for additional U.S. aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia. He said “it would be a big mistake” if the U.S. did not help Ukraine’s drone program, Ukrainian media reported Friday.
Also Friday, Mr. Graham announced in Kyiv, Ukraine, that he and a bipartisan group of senators had reached an agreement with the White House on a Russia sanctions bill that he had long sought to pass. Although the exact terms of the deal were not specified, the original legislation called for imposing heavy sanctions on countries that purchased oil, natural gas and uranium from Russia.
Although the bill had overwhelming support in the Senate, Mr. Trump had not yet supported it.
Mr. Graham was thrilled that the president appeared to finally be on board, said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who accompanied Mr. Graham on the Ukraine trip.
“When we last spoke, he was as enthusiastic & exuberant as I’ve ever seen him,” Mr. Blumenthal said in a tribute to Mr. Graham posted on X. “Passing the sanctions bill right away would be a fitting tribute.”
In a statement Sunday, Mr. Zelenskyy wrote, “America and the world have lost a determined leader.”
Mr. Graham was often criticized by the anti-war wing of his party as a hawk who pushed for expanding U.S. involvement in Ukraine, Iran and other overseas conflicts.
Mr. Graham viewed the sanctions bill as a way to bring an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, 2022.
The sanctions bill would stop countries from purchasing cheap gas from Russia, which he said was propping up Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
“In my opinion, this summer is the time to go all in to put pressure on Putin to get to the peace table and end the bloodbath,” Mr. Graham said in one of his final social media posts.
Mr. Graham’s office announced his death in the middle of the night. Mr. Trump posted a statement around 3 a.m. Sunday.
The two had a yearslong friendship that developed after Mr. Graham initially opposed Mr. Trump’s candidacy in 2016, during Mr. Graham’s failed bid for the White House.
After Mr. Trump won his first term, Mr. Graham quickly became one of the president’s closest advisers and said he would speak to Mr. Trump nearly every day.
Mr. Trump told NBC he spoke by phone with Mr. Graham hours before his death.
The president said there was no indication Mr. Graham was suffering from health problems.
“He felt OK. I mean, actually, on the call, he told me, he said, ’You know, I feel good. But I’m tired.’ He was fine. I knew him well. He would let you know if he wasn’t feeling well. He had days when he didn’t feel so well. And he’d let you know about it.”
Mr. Graham’s sudden death could complicate Senate Republicans’ efforts to pass critical legislation in the remaining months of the 119th Congress. At the top of the list is a special budget bill that would allow Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act without requiring any Democratic votes.
Mr. Graham was chairman of the Senate Budget Committee at the time of his death. He was instrumental in helping Republicans pass their signature tax-cut bill last year, using the same process, known as budget reconciliation, to circumvent a filibuster.
Mr. Trump was counting on Mr. Graham to help usher through the long-stalled voter ID measure, which the president views as critical to preventing election fraud.
“This is a big blow to the SAVE America Act, let me tell you,” Mr. Trump said on Sunday.
Next in line to chair the Budget Committee is Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, who is 92 and also a staunch Trump ally.
Mr. Graham’s death leaves Senate Republicans with just 51 votes for the time being.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, an 84-year-old Kentucky Republican, has not returned to the Senate since he was hospitalized in June.
Mr. Graham was also a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, which must vote on whether to advance Mr. Blanche’s nomination to the Senate floor.
The confirmation hearings begin this week. Republicans have a two-seat majority, but Sen. Thom Tillis, North Carolina Republican, has wavered in his support of Mr. Blanche and, with Mr. Graham’s sudden absence, could leave the committee short of the votes needed to advance his nomination.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican, noted Mr. Graham’s decades of service in the Air Force, the Air Force Reserve and the South Carolina Air National Guard.
“He was a trusted adviser and colleague to me and many others, and numerous presidents and heads of state have relied on his counsel. His influence on the federal judiciary, our national defense, and his beloved South Carolina will be felt for generations,” Mr. Thune said.
The cause of Mr. Graham’s death was not immediately reported, but it quickly led to suspicions circulating on social media that, given Mr. Graham’s efforts to help Ukraine, Russia or another bad actor was somehow involved.
The FBI showed up at Mr. Graham’s home, fueling the speculation.
“The FBI is assisting local authorities and has made every necessary resource available,” FBI Director Kash Patel said on social media.
Metropolitan Police told Fox News that the FBI was merely helping the police and that there was no indication of foul play.
Mr. Graham fell ill just after arriving home from Kyiv. The trip involves a flight of 10 hours or more. Long flights increase a person’s chances of deep vein thrombosis, which can lead to a pulmonary embolism. Mr. Graham’s family had a history of heart problems. His father died of a heart attack at 69.
His father’s death left Mr. Graham, who never married, alone as a young adult to raise his much younger sister, Darline Graham Nordone. He adopted her, and she is his only survivor.
Mr. Graham spent more than three decades in Congress. He was elected to the U.S. House in 1994 to represent South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District. He won the Senate seat in November 2002, succeeding Strom Thurmond.
Praise for Mr. Graham came from all directions Sunday. Democrats lauded his bipartisanship and sense of humor while Republicans credited his leadership on the Judiciary Committee with ensuring the confirmation of Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh in the face of a decades-old sexual assault allegation and other claims.
Mr. Graham even earned a heartfelt tribute from Monica Lewinsky for the role he played as a House manager after the 1998 impeachment of President Clinton for lying about his affair with Ms. Lewinsky.
“I’ve disagreed with many (many) of Lindsey Graham’s choices and beliefs,” Ms. Lewinsky said on X. “But he was also … the one who worked tirelessly to prove there was a smear campaign against me from inside the WH. RIP.”
Contact the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.