Lindsey Graham, a longtime Republican senator from South Carolina and one of Washington’s most influential voices on foreign policy and defense, has died at 71 after a brief and sudden illness, his office announced Sunday.
The communications director for his office confirmed the death in a post on X early Sunday. “On the evening of Saturday, July 11, US Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness,” the statement said. “Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”
Graham’s death sends shockwaves through Washington. He was running for re-election in November. There had been no known concerns over his health. He had just returned from Kyiv, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday. Zelensky wrote on social media that they had a “good meeting” and said he was grateful to Graham for recognizing Ukrainian warriors.
A career in Congress
Elected to the Senate in 2002, Graham was re-elected in 2008, 2014, and 2020, representing South Carolina. He served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and as a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Before joining the Senate, he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1994 for South Carolina’s third congressional district.
Graham ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 but dropped out before the primaries began. His death marks the passing of the last of the “three amigos,” a trio of close friends in the Senate that included Graham, Joe Lieberman, and John McCain, each of whom made unsuccessful bids for the presidency. McCain died in 2018. Lieberman died in 2024.
From critic to ally and hawk on the world stage
Graham was initially an outspoken critic of Donald Trump. He condemned Trump as a “jackass,” a “race-baiting bigot,” and “the most flawed nominee in the history of the Republican party,” warning that if the party nominated Trump, it would get destroyed and deserve it. Trump dismissed Graham as an “idiot” and a “lightweight.” Once Trump became unassailable, Graham became a valued ally who could act as an interlocutor between the president and Congress. He rallied the defense of Trump’s embattled Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, in 2018.
After Trump’s supporters staged an insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, Graham briefly broke with the president, declaring on the Senate floor: “Trump and I, we’ve had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way.” He said: “All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough.” His rebellion did not last. He refused to vote to convict Trump at the subsequent impeachment trial. He was quick to endorse Trump in the 2024 presidential election and often played golf with him. Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Graham was “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known” and “a true American Patriot.” Graham told the BBC in 2023 that there was a dark side to Donald Trump but that he was a very good president, citing Trump’s record on the US southern border, the killing of Iran’s Qasem Soleimani, and the appointment of conservative judges.
Graham was known as a hawk. He supported the 2003 US invasion of Iraq and had long pushed for military action against Iran. He opposed the nuclear agreement negotiated by President Barack Obama. He opposed the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2021, describing it as a “sad and dangerous event for US national security” and saying jihadists around the world were celebrating and America would be seen as weak.
He was a strong proponent of US support for Ukraine. In his most recent trip to the country, Graham was working on a version of the Russia sanctions bill, which he said would give “tools to President Trump to end this war.” He told the BBC in 2023: “Putin will not stop in Ukraine.” He added: “To be weak in Ukraine means that you lose in Taiwan.” Graham was also a staunch supporter of Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was grieving with the American people over the loss of Graham, saying Lindsey understood that the security of Israel and America are inseparable. Israel’s Defence Ministry said it was saddened by the death of Graham, “who stood with Israel in its most difficult time.”
Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, posted on X that Israel had lost one of its greatest friends and that Graham stood with Israel not because it was easy but because he believed it was right. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said America had lost a devoted patriot and Israel had lost one of its greatest friends. Before entering politics, Graham served more than six years on active duty as an Air Force lawyer. During the first Gulf War, he was called to active duty and served as a Staff Judge Advocate, preparing members for deployment to the Gulf region. He joined the Air Force reserves in 1995 and retired in June 2015 at the rank of colonel, having served 33 years in uniform.
A native South Carolinian, Graham grew up in a blue-collar family in the small town of Central, where his parents ran a restaurant and pool hall. He was the first member of his family to go to college, earning his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of South Carolina. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster said in a statement: “Lindsey Graham is irreplaceable. The fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America, and a loyal and steadfast friend.”