Lindsey Graham, Longtime South Carolina Senator and Donald Trump Ally, Dead at Age 71

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham has died at age 71.

“On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness,” his spokesperson said on Saturday. “Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”

NBC News reported that emergency services personnel responded to a call for “cardiac arrest” at Graham’s Washington D.C. residence on Saturday night. Photos obtained by the outlet indicated that medics carried someone out of the residence on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance. (His cause of death has not yet been publicly released.)

Graham was scheduled to appear on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, July 13, to discuss his recent visit to Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster led tributes to Graham on Saturday, saying in a statement that his family was “devastated” by the news.

“Lindsey Graham is irreplaceable,” McMaster, 79, wrote via X. “The fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America — and a loyal and steadfast friend. We grieve with [Lindsey’s sister] Darline, his family and his devoted staff. May God hold him gently in the palm of his hand. We shall not see his likes again.”

Graham served in the Senate from 2003 until his death, including chairing the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee from 2019 to 2021. He previously served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995 before winning a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1995. (He left the House to pursue a successful 2003 Senate campaign.)

The Republican politician most recently served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. He was seeking a fifth term in the Senate in the November 2026 midterms before his death.

In recent years, Graham established himself as a close ally of President Donald Trump — and he personally thanked Trump, 80, for helping him win his South Carolina primary with 56.8% of the vote in June.

“I want to start [by thanking] the big guy — God — Trump comes later,” he initially joked during his victory speech.

Graham then told his supporters, “I want to start with President Donald J. Trump … Mr. President, when you endorsed me early on it changed everything. You’re the gold standard in the Republican world. The most consequential endorsement I think in the history of politics.”

Their close friendship surprised many, as Graham was initially opposed to Trump’s 2016 presidential run, famously tweeting in May 2016, “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed…….and we will deserve it.”

The politician was a lifelong bachelor and never had children.