Sen.Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who was elected to the Senate in 2003 and was a close political ally of President Donald Trump’s, has died, his office confirmed.
He was 71.Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Graham died Saturday night “from a brief and sudden illness,” his office said in a statement.Emergency personnel had responded to a call for “cardiac arrest” at his Capitol Hill home, according to police scanner audio obtained by NBC News.Lindsey Graham’s preliminary cause of death was an aortic rupture due to a hardening of the arteries, his office said, citing a medical examiner.The president led tributes Sunday to “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known,” describing Graham as a “true American Patriot.”Add NBC News to GoogleTrump remembers his last call with Lindsey Graham the night before his death: Full interview15:32Trump later told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that he spoke with Graham on Saturday night, hours before the senator died, adding that “other than being tired, he was fine.”At the White House, flags were lowered to half-staff.
In a later post on Truth Social, Trump ordered that all American flags must fly at half-staff until Saturday at 6 p.m.Graham’s legacy includes hawkish policies and bipartisan charmThe prominent Republican was chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and was seeking a fifth term in November.He was one of the most well-known members of the chamber and a key voice within the party on defense and foreign policy.In recent years, he pressed both the Trump and Biden administrations to back Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion, and pressed the Trump administration for a hawkish stance on Iran.
Graham had just returned from Kyiv, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.“Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and of the values that make our world safer,” Zelenskyy said in a statement, noting that Graham h...