Sen.Lindsey Graham is gone, and with him goes a voice that Washington cannot easily replace.He was 71 and had just come home from Ukraine, one of many trips he made in the years since Russia's invasion.I've covered foreign policy long enough to know how rare he was.
In an era in which most politicians speak in slogans, Graham actually understood the intricate nuances.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Graham "a great friend of Israel" and said he devoted his life to strengthening the U.S.-Israel alliance.(Israeli Prime Ministry Press Office/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)LINDSEY GRAHAM, SOUTH CAROLINA SENATOR WHO ROSE FROM SMALL-TOWN ROOTS TO GOP POWER BROKER, DIES AT 71He knew the Middle East.
He understood Iran's regime and why they’d never relinquish their weapons or reform their rogue rhetoric.He advocated for support of Ukraine in its war with Russia.
He could explain why the Abraham Accords were a strategic revolution that needed to be expanded and pushed forward.He read intelligence reports, attended the briefings, and then went on Sunday morning television and translated it for the American people in plain language.He was one of the few lawmakers who could do that.That translation job matters more than most people realize.
American foreign policy generally suffers in the gap between what our intelligence community knows and what the average voter hears.Lindsey bridged that gap.Sen.
Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One with President Donald Trump and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on the way back to Washington, D.C., on Jan.4, 2026.
(Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)18 HOUSE REPUBLICANS DEFY TRUMP TO PASS UKRAINE AID PACKAGE HEADED FOR VETO FIGHTHe was also one of a very small number of people who had President Donald Trump's ear on national security, and he used it.Presidents get multiple, varying opinions a day.They listen to only a handful of voices.
Graham was one of them, and he...