Trump Confidant South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, 71, Dies
US President Donald Trump’s close ally Senator Lindsey Graham, a proponent of aggressive American foreign policy, died after a “brief and sudden illness.” He was 71.
A statement posted on the social media account of the South Carolina senator said Graham’s family “appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy.” It did not give further details.
One of the most influential figures in in the Trump administration on foreign policy, Graham advised the US president on Iran and Russia, the Associated Press reported.
Graham, who had reportedly just returned from a trip to Ukraine, had announced an agreement on Friday with the Trump administration to move forward on a package of Russia sanctions.
Graham was scheduled to appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday morning.
The South Carolina Republican and former Air Force lawyer “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead!” Trump posted on Truth Social early Sunday.
“He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW. So sad!”
As chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Graham played a key role during Trump’s second term as Republicans aggressively pushed major legislation on party-line votes despite a thin 53-47 majority.
Under South Carolina law, Republican Governor Henry McMaster will appoint a temporary replacement for Graham. The deceased was seeking a fifth term as Senator in the November mid-term elections.
Graham had posted in Twitter in 2016 that if Trump became the Republican nominee it would be a disaster.
“If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed…….and we will deserve it,” his post said.
If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed…….and we will deserve it.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) May 3, 2016
Graham briefly ran against Trump for the party’s presidential nomination in 2016, but later became a known backer of the US president. He had even termed Trump, who was just a New York businessman at that point of time, as “unfit for office.”
Graham also had a run-in with Trump after the latter made disparaging comments about Arizona Republican John McCain, Graham’s best friend in the Senate and a Vietnam War veteran. McCain remained a Trump critic but Graham switched sides after Trump won.
Graham, known as a hardliner and a war hawk in the Kremlin for his backing of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, was first elected to the Senate in 2002.
Deeply saddened by the news of the passing of United States Senator Lindsey Graham. Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer.
He visited Ukraine ten times during the years of Russia’s full-scale invasion and was here with our people when it… pic.twitter.com/7oE2F5ZDAy
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 12, 2026
“He visited Ukraine ten times during the years of Russia’s full-scale invasion and was here with our people when it was most needed. We remained in constant dialogue, and I will miss our conversations. We met twice in just the past week,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on X.
His aggressive backing of a US policy of robust military interventionism and strong national defense had earned him many rivals in the isolationist wing of the Republican Party.
