U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham dies at 71

Graham passed away on Saturday evening after a brief and sudden illness

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a key Republican who ‌went from a vocal critic of Donald Trump to one of his most loyal allies on Capitol Hill after Trump became president, has died at age 71.

The South Carolina lawmaker died after a "brief and sudden illness," his office posted on X early on Sunday. NBC News said emergency personnel had responded to a call for cardiac arrest at his Capitol Hill home on Saturday night.

Shortly after his death was announced, Trump called Graham "one of the greatest people and senators I have known" and a hard-working patriot.

Lindsey Graham destroys his phone on YouTube after number leaked by Donald Trump

During the 2016 campaign, Graham was among many Republicans who lost the presidential nomination to Trump. He posted on ⁠social media: "If we nominate Trump, ⁠we will get destroyed ... and we will deserve it."

Later, ‌after becoming a staunch supporter, Graham publicly disagreed with Trump's early 2025 decision to pardon about 1,500 of the president's supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, saying it could lead to more violence.

A defence hawk, Graham "consistently pushed for outcomes in the War on Terror that protect our ⁠long-term national security interests," his website said. He was a prominent supporter of Israel and Ukraine and opponent of Iran.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz posted on X that he was deeply saddened by the death of Graham, "who stood with Israel at ‌its most difficult moments."

On Friday, Graham said China could play a decisive role in pressuring Russia towards peace talks, helping end its war in Ukraine. Graham, a frequent visitor to Ukraine, met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. They discussed Ukraine's air defence needs and a Russian sanctions bill, Zelenskyy said.

Graham said bolstering Ukraine's military capabilities and aligning sanctions with a diplomatic push could force Moscow into talks.

"The road to ending this war, the road to peace, passes through ⁠Beijing more than it does (through) Washington, Kyiv, or Moscow," Graham told reporters at Kyiv's Mykhailivska Square. "China has an oversized ⁠influence. I'd like them to use their influence for the good of the world."

"I don't believe (Russian President Vladimir) ⁠Putin ⁠is there yet, but it wouldn't take much to get him there."

Graham recently served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and was a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senate Judiciary Committee ⁠and Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Graham, a former Air Force lawyer and member of the South Carolina Air National Guard, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002. Before that, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994 for South Carolina's 3rd congressional district, according to his website.

He was not married and lived in Seneca, South Carolina.