Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who evolved from one of President Donald Trump’s sharpest critics into one of his staunchest allies, died on July 11 at 71, according to his office. Preliminary findings from the Medical Examiner of the District of Columbia determined that Graham died from an aortic dissection — a tear in the body’s main artery — caused by arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Graham’s office had initially described his death only as the result of a “brief and sudden illness.” Reidy later disclosed the preliminary cause, warning that more testing is needed and final results await toxicological and microscopic analysis.
The senator’s death came with jarring suddenness. He had no known health concerns and had just returned from Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday. He was scheduled to appear on Sunday’s “Meet the Press.”
Emergency personnel responded to Graham’s home in Washington on Saturday night, where they performed CPR on a man in cardiac arrest, according to public safety radio feeds and photos of responders removing a person from his Capitol Hill residence.
Trump Rules Out Foul Play
President Trump said he spoke with Graham just minutes before the senator was stricken and dismissed speculation of foul play. Trump said the senator seemed fine apart from being tired and called the loss devastating. Trump, who ordered flags lowered in Graham’s honor, called him "one of the greatest" people and Senators he had ever known, in a post on Truth Social.
The president’s grief marked a remarkable coda to a relationship that had begun in open hostility. In 2015, Graham branded Trump a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot,” and warned the following year that nominating him would destroy the Republican Party. After the 2021 Capitol riot, Graham declared from the Senate floor that he had had enough, telling colleagues to "count me out."
The estrangement did not last. Graham voted against convicting Trump in the 2021 impeachment trial and backed his 2024 campaign, citing the president’s record on the southern border, the killing of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and the appointment of conservative judges. Graham acknowledged a “dark side” to Trump, but said he supported him based on his accomplishments.
A Foreign Policy Hawk
Over more than three decades in Washington, Graham built a reputation as one of the Senate’s most forceful voices on national security, consistently pressing for aggressive American engagement abroad. He was a staunch supporter of Israel and of military action against Iran, and last month told CBS that the United States would “obliterate” Iran if it refused to accept American control of the Strait of Hormuz. He had voted for the invasion of Iraq after the September 11 attacks and condemned the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan as a dangerous blow to national security.
Zelenskyy, who met Graham the day before his death, said he was deeply saddened and paid tribute to the senator’s 10 wartime visits to Ukraine and his advocacy for the country’s defense. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his nation had lost one of its greatest friends, adding that Graham understood the security of Israel and America to be inseparable. Israeli President Isaac Herzog described himself as shocked and heartbroken.
From a Pool Hall to the Senate
Graham was born in Central, South Carolina, on July 9, 1955, and grew up in a blue-collar family. Both of his parents died within a short span when Graham was in his early twenties, requiring him to become legal guardian for his 13-year-old sister, Darline. He often credited federal programs — Social Security survivor benefits and Pell grants — with keeping his family afloat, and he attended the University of South Carolina for both his undergraduate and law degrees before serving as a military lawyer.
After one term in the South Carolina House of Representatives, Graham won a seat in the U.S. House, where he served as a prosecutor in the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. In 2002, he was elected to the Senate seat long held by Strom Thurmond, winning reelection three times by comfortable margins. In 2020, he won reelection against Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison by a double-digit margin. A brief 2015 presidential bid ended before the primaries.
Among his closest friendships was one with the late Arizona Sen. John McCain; the two, alongside Joe Lieberman, were dubbed “the three amigos.” Meghan McCain, John McCain’s daughter, wrote that although her relationship with Graham had grown complex in later years, she chose to remember the joy he brought her family. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, floated as a possible successor, said through a spokesperson that she has no plans to seek office.
The seat leaves Republicans holding a 53-47 majority in the chamber. Gov. Henry McMaster holds the power to appoint a temporary replacement. Graham’s office asked for privacy and prayers for his family during what it called an incredibly difficult period.