The longtime South Carolina senator had just returned from an overseas trip and was scheduled to be on TV the next morning.WASHINGTON – On the morning of July 12, many Americans expected to turn on their televisions and see a familiar face on the Sunday political talk show circuit – Sen. Lindsey Graham.The South Carolina Republican was fresh off an overseas trip for the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, where he'd traveled with a bipartisan delegation of lawmakers. He'd taken countless such trips before in his more than three decades in Washington. He'd even met separately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv ahead of his travels back to DC for the Senate's planned return from a two-week recess.Graham's globetrotting lent itself to a prime spot on the networks – he was scheduled to be on NBC's "Meet the Press." It was a familiar pattern for a senator known around Washington (and the world) for frequently being in the political thick of things (and no stranger to TV cameras).Instead, shock reverberated throughout Washington, and the nation, when he suddenly died the night before.Graham's office announced that he passed away on Saturday, July 11, due to a "brief and sudden illness." No further details were immediately given. He was 71.His colleagues in Congress were stunned."There are no words to describe Lindsey Graham, my friend of more than three decades," Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, said in a statement. "Lindsey Graham can be succeeded in office but he cannot be replaced."Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said he'd miss Graham's "infectious laugh, quick wit, and enthusiasm for life."Tim Scott, the other Republican senator representing South Carolina, said Graham always "brought wit to the most challenging moments.""South Carolina lost a statesman," he said in a statement, "and I’ve lost a friend."Perhaps the biggest shock, apart from Graham's allies on Capitol Hill, came from the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue. President Donald Trump, who often confided in Graham and had a close relationship with him, said the country had lost "one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known.""DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW," Trump wrote on social media. "So sad!"Graham was up for reelection in his deep-red state this year. His death temporarily leaves open the GOP nominee for his seat, which will more than likely stay red regardless of the candidate. Henry McMaster, South Carolina's Republican governor, will appoint an interim replacement to serve until the next Congress is sworn in in January.Zachary Schermele is the congressional correspondent for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.