Senate Budget Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a long-standing foreign policy hawk who became a close ally of President Donald Trump during his final years, has died at 71 “from a brief and sudden illness,” according to his office.
The Washington, D.C. medical examiner Sunday issued preliminary findings that Graham died from a rupture of the aorta stemming from hardening of the arteries.
Graham, who was first elected to represent South Carolina in the Senate in 2002 after spending four terms in the House, has played a key role in pushing legislation that advances the second Trump administration’s agenda across the finish line.
His family “appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” the statement continued.
A foreign policy hawk, Graham, who was seeking a fifth term in November, spent many of his last days in Congress emphasizing the importance of the Trump administration’s actions in the Middle East. Graham’s death also comes after a recent visit to Ukraine, where he spoke with president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
