U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham Dies at 71

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham died Saturday at age 71 after a rupture to his aorta. Graham’s office stated the cause of death was a brief and sudden illness; further testing is pending. Graham's office said an official cause of death would be released after further toxicological and microscopic testing.

Graham represented South Carolina in the Senate since taking office in 2003. He was first elected in 2002 and served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. He was running for a fifth term in November.

Emergency personnel responded to a call about a cardiac arrest at his Capitol Hill residence on Saturday night, NBC News reported. Graham had been scheduled to appear on the Meet the Press program the following morning. President Trump described Graham as one of the greatest people and senators he had known and called him a hard-working patriot.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had lost one of its greatest friends and that he had lost a beloved friend. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Graham stood with Israel at its most difficult moments. Graham met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Friday.

They discussed Ukraine's air defense needs and a Russian sanctions bill. Graham told reporters at Mykhailivska Square that the road to ending the war in Ukraine passes through Beijing more than through Washington, Kyiv or Moscow. Zelenskyy called Graham a true defender of freedom and noted that the senator had visited Ukraine 10 times since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

Graham's office requested privacy for the family and asked for prayers.