Lindsey Graham, one of the most influential Republican lawmakers in the United States and a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, has died at the age of 71 following a brief and sudden illness.
According to a statement released by his office early Sunday, the South Carolina senator passed away after a sudden medical emergency. U.S. media reported that emergency responders were called to his Capitol Hill residence on Saturday night following a cardiac arrest.
President Donald Trump led tributes shortly after the announcement, describing Graham as “one of the greatest people and senators I have known” and praising his decades of public service, patriotism, and commitment to the United States.
Graham served South Carolina in the U.S. Senate for more than two decades after first being elected in 2002. Before joining the Senate, he represented South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives after winning election in 1994. During his Senate career, he chaired the Senate Budget Committee and served on several powerful committees, including Appropriations, Judiciary, and Environment and Public Works.
Known for his hawkish foreign policy views, Graham was a strong advocate for U.S. military strength and consistently supported aid to Israel and Ukraine while taking a hardline stance against Iran. Throughout his career, he argued that American national security depended on maintaining strong alliances and confronting global threats.
In his final days, Graham visited Kyiv, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss Ukraine’s air defense requirements and proposed sanctions against Russia. Speaking in the Ukrainian capital, he said China held significant influence over Russia and could play a decisive role in bringing Moscow to peace negotiations.
“The road to ending this war, the road to peace, passes through Beijing more than it does Washington, Kyiv, or Moscow,” Graham told reporters, urging China to use its influence to help end the conflict.
Graham’s political journey was marked by a dramatic shift in his relationship with Donald Trump. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he was among Trump’s sharpest Republican critics, questioning his leadership and warning that any election defeat would reflect campaign failures rather than a “rigged” system. However, after Trump entered the White House, Graham became one of his closest allies in Congress and frequently defended the administration’s policies.
Despite their close relationship, Graham occasionally broke ranks with Trump. Earlier in 2025, he publicly criticized Trump’s decision to pardon around 1,500 people convicted in connection with the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, warning that such pardons could encourage future political violence.
Following news of his death, tributes poured in from across the political spectrum and from international leaders. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Graham had stood firmly with Israel during some of its most difficult moments and described him as a steadfast friend of the country.
Lindsey Graham never married and maintained close ties to his home state of South Carolina throughout his political career. His death marks the end of a three-decade career in Congress during which he became one of the Republican Party’s most recognizable voices on national security, foreign policy, and judicial affairs.