Lindsey Graham, Republican senator, dies suddenly at 71, Trump offers condolences

WEB DESK: US Senator Lindsey Graham, a leading Republican who evolved from one of Donald Trump’s sharpest critics to one of his closest allies in Congress, has died at the age of 71.

Graham died following a “brief and sudden illness,” his office announced in a post on X on Sunday. NBC News reported that emergency responders were called to his Capitol Hill residence on Saturday night after receiving a report of cardiac arrest.

US President Donald Trump led tributes, describing Graham as “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known.”

“He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Before Trump’s election in 2016, Graham was among his most outspoken Republican critics. After Trump questioned whether he would accept the election outcome if defeated, Graham said any loss would reflect Trump’s performance as a candidate rather than a “rigged” system.

Despite their early differences, Graham later became one of Trump’s strongest supporters in the Senate. However, he publicly broke with the president over the decision to pardon around 1,500 people convicted over the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack, warning the move could encourage future political violence.

A longtime defence hawk, Graham was a prominent advocate of a strong US military and a vocal supporter of Israel and Ukraine while maintaining a hardline stance against Iran.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz expressed condolences, saying Graham “stood with Israel at its most difficult moments.”

Just days before his death, Graham visited Kyiv, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss Ukraine’s air defence requirements and proposed sanctions against Russia. He argued that China could play a decisive role in persuading Moscow to engage in 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 during the visit.

Graham was first elected to the US Senate in 2002 after serving in the US House of Representatives, where he represented South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District from 1995. At the time of his death, he served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and was a member of several key Senate committees, including Appropriations, Judiciary, and Environment and Public Works.

He is survived by extended family members and was unmarried. Graham lived in Seneca, South Carolina.