Senator Lindsey Graham passes away at age 71 and surprises American political scene By Carolina Costa
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Senator Lindsey Graham, a renowned Republican from South Carolina and an influential voice on defense and foreign policy, has died at the age of 71. A notícia, que surpreendeu o cenário político americano, foi confirmada por seu gabinete na manhã deste domingo, 12 de julho de 2026, após uma “breve e repentina doença”.
President Donald Trump was among the first to pay tribute on Sunday, describing Graham as “one of the greatest people and senators I have ever met” and a “true American patriot” in a post on Truth Social.
In an official statement, the senator’s office said that Graham passed away on Saturday night, asking for privacy for the family “during this incredibly difficult time.”
A member of Graham’s team said there was “no indication” that the senator was feeling unwell before his sudden death.
Trump, in a later statement, revealed that he had spoken to Graham on Saturday night, just hours before his death, and the senator “was fine, besides being tired.”
Out of respect for his memory, flags at the White House were flown at half-mast.
Lindsey Graham chaired the Senate Budget Committee and was campaigning for a fifth six-year term, with an election scheduled for November. He was recognized as one of the most prominent members of Congress and a key Republican Party figure in discussions about defense and foreign policy.
Emergency crews were called to a “cardiac arrest” call at Graham’s Capitol Hill residence on Saturday night, according to police radio audio.
EMS records indicated that cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was underway at the scene.
Photographs of the scene analyzed show paramedics transporting a person on a stretcher from the senator’s house to a waiting ambulance, with police vehicles and fire trucks also present.
A member of Graham’s team reiterated early Sunday morning that there was no sign of the congressman being unwell before his death. The senator had confirmed participation in a television program for Sunday, an attraction to which he was invited 63 times throughout his career.
Political repercussions and the future of the Senate seat
Several political figures expressed their regret over the senator’s death. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota described Graham as a “strong defender of the United States and a strong ally of freedom-loving countries around the world.”
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster paid tribute to his colleague, saying that Graham was “the fiercest fighter for South Carolina and America — and a loyal and constant friend.”
Former President George W. Bush recalled that Graham “understood how the world works and how important the United States’ international engagement is to resist tyranny.”
Under South Carolina law, Governor McMaster will be responsible for nominating a replacement to fill Graham’s seat by January 3 of next year.
In June, Graham had won the primary against several opponents, securing the nomination to run for his fifth term. Now, South Carolina Republicans must find a new candidate for the race, with a special primary scheduled for Aug. 11 under state election laws.
Diplomacy and international honors
Graham’s death generated international repercussions, especially due to his active role in foreign policy. He had returned from a trip to Kiev, Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the previous Friday.
“Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer,” Zelenskyy said in a statement, noting that Graham visited Ukraine ten times during the war. “We were in constant dialogue, something I will miss,” he added, mentioning that in recent weeks the senator “worked on important initiatives that could help bring peace closer, including strengthening sanctions against Russia.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte mourned the loss of a “tireless defender of the United States, who firmly believed in the NATO Alliance and actively worked to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his grief in an interview, saying: “The United States has lost a great patriot. Israel has lost one of the great defenders of the American-Israeli alliance. And, frankly, I have lost a dear, long-time friend.”
Netanyahu also commented that Iran would celebrate the news of the senator’s death.
Indeed, Tehran’s state media celebrated the death, characterizing Graham as a “warmonger” and “anti-Iranian.” In contrast, the country’s former crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, an opponent of the regime, used Channel X to claim that Graham “stood alongside the Iranian people in their fight against tyranny.”
The fatality comes as another Republican senator, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, remains hospitalized following a cardiac arrest at his home last month.
A spokesman for McConnell said the former Republican majority leader continued to recover, but did not release further details about his health.
A life dedicated to public service and politics
Lindsey Graham grew up in the small town of Central, South Carolina, where her parents ran a restaurant and billiards house. He was the first in his family to pursue higher education, earning a law degree from the University of South Carolina before beginning his military career.
Graham served in the U.S. Air Force as a lawyer and served a total of 33 years in the Air Force, the Air Force Reserve, and the South Carolina Air National Guard. He fulfilled his reserve duties while holding his seat in Congress and retired in 2015 with the rank of colonel.
His career in Congress began as a member of the House of Representatives, where he served from 1995 to 2003.
In 2002, Graham ran for the Senate, winning the South Carolina seat previously held by Strom Thurmond, then in the process of retiring.
Throughout his career, Graham was noted for his work on foreign policy. In recent years, he has lobbied both the Trump and Biden administrations to support Kiev’s resistance to the Russian invasion and advocated for a stronger Trump administration stance toward Iran.
In the Senate, he found allies for his foreign policy positions, becoming friends with Senators John McCain of Arizona and Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut. The trio was known informally as “The Three Amigos”, due to their positions considered more warlike.
Michael A. Horowitz, a geopolitical and security analyst, described Graham in an interview as the “last highly effective advocate within the Republican Party of the idea that American power must shape events before hostile powers shape them.”
Horowitz added that in the Trump era, Graham’s “influence on foreign policy has gone from shaping a broad consensus in the Senate to shaping Trump’s own instincts, using loyalty and sycophancy to keep hard-line positions on Iran, Ukraine and Syria on the table, even as the party’s base has turned more inward.”
Graham chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee between 2019 and 2021. Most recently, he led the Senate Budget Committee, where he was instrumental in passing a significant package of tax and spending cuts during Trump’s second term.
Interestingly, Graham was initially a critic of Donald Trump, even briefly running against him in the 2016 Republican presidential primary, warning: “If we nominate Trump, we will be destroyed.” In 2016, Graham even voted for a third party candidate, declaring that he could not support either Trump or Hillary Clinton.
The relationship between the two evolved significantly over the following decade. Graham began to frequently praise Trump, although he sometimes pressured him on political decisions. In a February interview, he called himself the president’s “lodestar.”
“We disagree, but he knows where I stand,” Graham said of the president. “He sees me as someone who helps him as much as anyone else in the Senate.”
