Graham was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 1994, before being elected to the Senate in 2002.
(FILES) US Senator Lindsey Graham delivers a statement following a meeting with Lebanon’s president at the Presidential Palace in Baabda on August 26, 2025. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a key ally of US President Donald Trump, died on July 11, 2026, at the age of 71 following “a brief and sudden illness,” his office announced on its official X account on July 12. “Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead! He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!!,” US President wrote in a post on Truth Social in reaction to Graham’s death. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP)
Prominent US Senator Lindsey Graham, a key ally of President Donald Trump, died on Saturday aged 71 following a “brief and sudden illness,” his office said.
“On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness,” the Republican senator from South Carolina’s office said in a statement on his official X account.
“Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”
Graham was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 1994, before being elected to the Senate in 2002.
(FILES) US senator Lindsey Graham (C), Republican of South Carolina, flanked by President Donald Trump (R) and the Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One on their way back to Washington, DC, on January 4, 2026. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)
He was later re-elected to the Senate in 2008, 2014 and 2020 and most recently served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committees
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster described Graham as “irreplaceable” in a post on X.
“The fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America — and a loyal and steadfast friend,” McMaster said.
Graham was also a strong supporter of Israel and a hawkish backer of the Iran war.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the news of Graham’s death left him “shocked and heartbroken.”
“Senator Graham was a beacon of moral clarity and a true leader of the U.S.-Israel partnership,” he said in a post on X.
“We will never forget how he stood by the people of Israel in our most difficult moments, and we will remain eternally grateful for his sense of justice, truth, and loyalty,” Herzog said.
“The people of Israel mourn his loss, and I will miss my great friend very dearly.”
