U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham has died at 71, his office says

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., gestures as he speaks to the media in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s closest allies in Congress who traveled the globe to advocate for a more aggressive U.S. foreign policy, died Saturday evening after a “brief and sudden illness,” his office said in a statement posted on social media. He was 71.

His office did not provide did not provide any additional details about the South Carolina Republican and said his family “appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”

“Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead!” Trump posted on social media early Sunday morning. “He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW. So sad!”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said “my heart is heavy this morning to learn the passing of my friend and colleague, Senator Lindsey Graham.”

“Lindsey’s long and dedicated service in the Air Force and in Congress carried him to far-flung regions of the world,” Thune said. “He was a strong advocate for the United States and a strong ally to freedom-loving countries across the globe. He believed in the might of America to achieve good in the world and dedicated his life to advancing that cause.”

Graham was close with Trump

First elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002 after serving in the House, the former Air Force lawyer long promoted a policy of robust U.S. military interventionism and strong national defense that in later years, would put him at odds with the growing isolationist wing of the Republican Party.

But in recent years, Graham also became well known for his close ties with Trump, whom he briefly ran against for the party’s presidential nomination in 2016.

Graham and Trump’s relationship would begin on a rough note, with the senator calling the then-businessman “unfit for office.” Graham also used a profanity to describe Trump after he made disparaging comments about former Sen. John McCain, Graham’s best friend in the Senate and a Vietnam War veteran. McCain and Graham, along with former Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., were known as the “Three Amigos” and frequently traveled to push their hawkish foreign policy views around the globe.

Not long after, Trump read out Graham’s personal cellphone number during a campaign rally in South Carolina and continued to belittle him throughout 2016 as Graham made it clear he would not support Trump, even though he was the party’s presidential nominee.

But Graham shifted significantly once Trump won the White House, emerging as one of Trump’s top allies — speaking with him frequently and becoming a regular presence on the golf course alongside the president — even as McCain remained a critic.

In a 2018 interview with The Associated Press, Graham explained his pivot by saying McCain taught him that the country must move forward after elections and that meant “you have an obligation” to help the president. McCain ran twice for the White House.

“And I’ve tried to be helpful where I could because I think he needs all the help he can get,” Graham said of Trump. “You can be a better critic when people understand that you’re trying to help them be successful.”

Graham appeared to break with Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying, “Count me out. Enough is enough.” But the senator returned to the fold and remained close with the president during his second term.

Foreign policy was a focus for Graham

Graham especially advised Trump on foreign policy matters such as Iran and Russia, and had just announced an agreement on Friday with the Trump administration to move forward on a package of Russia sanctions. The senator had been in Ukraine to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said that the senator visited his country 10 times during the years of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

“Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer,” Zelenskyy said.

His travels made him a familiar face to dozens of world leaders.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday mourned Graham’s death, calling him “a great friend of Israel” and “a cherished friend of mine.”

Netanyahu said Graham understood that the security of Israel and the United States is inseparable and devoted his life to defending America, strengthening the U.S.-Israel alliance and standing up for the free world.

“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend,” Netanyahu said, extending condolences to Graham’s family and the American people.

The Republican had a prominent career on Capitol Hill

Graham had been serving as the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, giving him a central role during Trump’s second term as Republicans pushed major legislation on party-line votes with a slim majority in the chamber.

His committee oversaw a process called reconciliation, a Senate procedure that allowed Republicans to pass significant policies such as last year’s tax law without the threat of a Democratic filibuster.

He had previously led the Senate Judiciary Committee when Republicans confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court in 2020, and was in line to regain that gavel if the party kept control of the Senate after this year’s midterms.

Graham was a key player in the Senate’s efforts to craft a massive immigration overhaul in 2013 as a member of the so-called Gang of Eight, a bipartisan group that wrote a sweeping measure that would have altered virtually every part of U.S. immigration law. It passed the Senate with 68 votes but was never taken up by the House, so it did not become law.

But Graham’s views on immigration, particularly an endorsement of a pathway to citizenship for people in the U.S. without legal status, put him at odds with some Republican factions.

He sometimes faced primary challenges in his home state of South Carolina, but he won the nomination outright in June while running for a fifth term. Graham was slated to face Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician from Charleston, in November’s general election.

The senator addressed the president in his victory speech last month, saying, “I’m going to help you change this world and change this country.”

Little explanation from Graham’s office

The sparse statement by Graham’s office, which did not explain his death, comes during a stretch of concern about a lack of transparency about lawmakers’ health.

Rep. Tom Kean Jr., a New Jersey Republican, was absent without explanation for months before returning to Congress and disclosing that he had been diagnosed with depression.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, was hospitalized weeks ago for undisclosed health reasons.

Republicans hold a narrow 53-47 majority in the Senate. Under South Carolina law, Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, will appoint a temporary replacement for Graham, and that person will serve until January.

McMaster said in a statement that Graham was “irreplaceable.”

“The fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America — and a loyal and steadfast friend,” McMaster said. As he offered condolences to his family, he added: “We shall not see his likes again.”

Graham was not married and did not have children. His closest living relative is sister Darline Graham Nordone, whom he helped raise after both their parents died.

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Chris Megerian in Washington, Brian P. D. Hannon in Bangkok and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

Seung Min Kim, The Associated Press