Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Donald Trump and one of Washington’s most influential voices on foreign policy, died on Saturday evening after a “brief and sudden illness”, his office said — just hours after returning from a trip to Kyiv where he met Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Emergency medical services received a call at about 8.30pm regarding a person suffering chest pains at Graham’s home on Capitol Hill, the Washington Post reported, citing police scanner audio. About 25 minutes later, personnel said CPR was in progress and a man was suffering cardiac arrest. The senator, who turned 71 last Thursday, had no known health concerns ahead of his Ukraine visit.
“US Senator Lindsey Graham dies suddenly at 71 after cardiac arrest days after meeting Ukraine's Zelensky.”
“On the evening of Saturday 11 July, US senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness,” his office said in a statement. “Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”
Graham had served in the Senate since 2003, representing South Carolina, and was running for re-election in November. His abrupt death will send shock waves through Washington and the Republican party.
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social: “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!”
Graham’s relationship with Trump was famously turbulent. In 2015, he told CNN that Trump was “a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.” After the 2021 Capitol riots, Graham said on the Senate floor: “Trump and I, we’ve had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way. All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough.” But he later became one of Trump’s staunchest backers, voting against convicting him in the 2021 impeachment trial and supporting him in the 2024 election.
A strong proponent of US support for Ukraine, Graham was working on a version of the Russia sanctions bill, which he said would give “tools to President Trump to end this war.” He told the BBC in 2023: “Putin will not stop in Ukraine. To be weak in Ukraine means that you lose in Taiwan.”
Zelensky wrote on social media on Friday: “I’m grateful to Lindsey for recognizing our warriors.” Graham was scheduled to appear on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.
Graham grew up in Central, South Carolina, where his parents ran a restaurant and pool hall. He was the first in his family to go to college, earned degrees from the University of South Carolina, served in the air force, and was elected to the House in 1994. He managed Bill Clinton’s 1999 impeachment trial.
His death leaves a vacant Senate seat in a deeply Republican state, triggering a special election that could reshape the chamber’s balance — and removes one of Trump’s most loyal defenders from the floor.