U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham dies at 71 after brief illness.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham died Saturday evening after a brief and sudden illness, his office announced. The South Carolina lawmaker had just returned from a trip to Ukraine.
Graham had just returned from Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday. A prominent Republican voice on foreign policy, Graham had recently discussed support for Kyiv and sanctions on Russia. He had also announced an agreement with the Trump administration to move forward with a package of sanctions against Russia. Graham supported policies aimed at isolating Iran and limiting its missile and nuclear programs, and he praised Trump's decision to strike Iranian nuclear sites last year. There were no known health concerns before his trip.
He was running for a fifth Senate term. He had been serving as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, giving him a central role during Trump's second term as Republicans advanced major legislation with a slim majority. His committee oversaw the budget reconciliation process, which allowed Republicans to pass measures such as last year's tax law without a Democratic filibuster. He had previously chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee when Republicans confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court in 2020.
President Donald Trump said Graham was a true American patriot. The brief statement from Graham's office, which did not explain the cause of his death, comes amid growing concerns about a lack of transparency regarding lawmakers' health.