Lindsey Graham, South Carolina senator, dies at 71 after aortic dissection

Trump called the longtime South Carolina Republican “a true American Patriot” in a Truth Social tribute, as the state prepared to name a successor to the four-term senator.

First Published: July 13, 2026, 7:19 AM ETUpdates (13): July 13, 2026, 7:19 AM ET

WASHINGTON D.C. — Senator Lindsey Graham, the four-term South Carolina Republican and one of the Senate’s most prominent foreign-policy hawks, died at 71.

Graham died Saturday evening following a brief and sudden illness, his office said in a statement (see cbsnews.com). His spokesperson said the cause was aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to preliminary findings by the Medical Examiner of the District of Columbia (see cbsnews.com). His death came shortly after he returned from a trip to Ukraine and ahead of a scheduled Sunday appearance on “Meet the Press.”

“Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead,”Donald Trump said in a tribute. “He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed.”

Here is the full post on truthsocial: “Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead! He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW. So sad! Trump”

Graham was born in Central, South Carolina, on July 9, 1955 (see cbsnews.com). Both parents died when he was in his early 20s, leaving him to serve as legal guardian for his 13-year-old sister, Darline. He served as a military lawyer, won a seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives, then entered the U.S. House representing the state’s 3rd District. He won the Senate seat once held by Strom Thurmond in 2002 and secured reelection three times.

Graham built a reputation as an outspoken foreign-policy hawk on Iran and Russia, and he made 10 wartime visits to Ukraine, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (see cbsnews.com). Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that “Israel has lost one of its greatest friends.” His alliances with the late GOP Senator John McCain of Arizona and independent Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut earned the trio the nickname “the three amigos.”

His death removes a reliable Trump ally from a narrowly divided Senate and shifts the balance of a South Carolina seat that anchors Republican influence. Graham defeated Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison by more than 10 points in 2020, even though Harrison raised $25 million more than his campaign (see cbsnews.com).

The question of a successor now falls to South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, a close Trump ally. McMaster planned to announce an appointment to the seat Monday at 4 p.m. ET, and the choice is expected to be a caretaker rather than a full-term candidate (see foxnews.com). Trump recommended Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to serve as interim senator, writing that the pick “would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey” (see foxnews.com). South Carolina will hold a primary this summer before the November election to decide the six-year term.

Has a sitting U.S. senator died in office before? This has happened many times. Governors have filled Senate seats by appointment after the deaths of members such as McCain in 2018, whose Arizona seat Governor Doug Ducey filled. The practice traces to the 17th Amendment, which permits state governors to appoint temporary replacements pending an election.

Graham’s arc from Trump critic to close ally isn’t the first time a Republican leader reversed course toward a party standard-bearer and defined a career by it. In 1980, George H.W. Bush attacked Ronald Reagan’s fiscal plan as “voodoo economics” during the primaries, then accepted the vice-presidential slot months later, according to britannica.com. Bush served two terms as vice president and won the presidency in 1988. Graham traveled a similar path after his own short-lived 2016 presidential run, ultimately helping steer three of Trump’s Supreme Court nominees through the Senate Judiciary Committee.