Sen. Lindsey Graham likely died after aorta tear, medical examiner says
[July 13, 2026]
By SEUNG MIN KIM, MARY CLARE JALONICK and MEG KINNARD
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of President Donald Trump's
closest allies in Congress who traveled the globe to advocate for a more
aggressive U.S. foreign policy, died after a tear in his aorta,
according to a preliminary medical examiner finding shared by his
office.
The tear in the inner wall of the aorta, called an aortic dissection,
was related to the hardening of Graham's arteries. An official cause of
death will be disclosed after toxicological and microscopic testing.
Graham, a prominent South Carolina Republican and former Air Force
lawyer who served in Congress for more than three decades, had turned 71
years old just two days before dying on Saturday night. His office had
originally said he had suffered from a “brief and sudden illness."
Trump, who talked to Graham frequently, said he was “like a member of
the family. It’s very tough.” He said on NBC’s ”Meet the Press" that
Graham had called him on Saturday night after returning from a trip to
Ukraine and “sounded a little bit tired, but perfect.” The president
ordered that flags across the country be flown at half-staff until next
Saturday evening.
A noted foreign policy hawk, Graham was one of the most influential
figures in Washington on international affairs and he advised Trump on
matters such as the Iran war and Russia. On Friday, Graham had announced
an agreement with the Trump administration to move forward on a package
of Russia sanctions.
As chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Graham also had a central
role during Trump’s second term as Republicans pushed major legislation
on party-line votes while holding a narrow 53-47 majority in the
chamber.
Under South Carolina law, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster will appoint a
temporary replacement for Graham, who was seeking a fifth term in
November. A new nominee will be selected in a special primary, which is
required to be held within weeks of a vacancy. The winner of November's
general election will start a full six-year term in January.
Graham had a close, complicated relationship with Trump
Graham, elected to the Senate in 2002 after serving in the House, long
promoted a policy of robust U.S. military interventionism and strong
national defense that in later years would put him at odds with the
growing isolationist wing of his party.
Over time, Graham became well-known for his close ties with Trump, whom
the senator briefly ran against for the presidential nomination in 2016.
Their relationship would begin on a rough note, with Graham calling the
then-New York businessman “unfit for office.” Graham used a profanity to
describe Trump after Trump made disparaging comments about Arizona
Republican John McCain, Graham's best friend in the Senate and a Vietnam
War veteran. McCain and Graham, along with Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.,
were known as the “Three Amigos” and frequently traveled together to
promote their foreign policy views around the globe.
During a campaign rally in South Carolina, Trump read out Graham’s
personal cellphone number and continued to belittle him throughout the
2016 race as Graham made it clear he would not support Trump.
Graham, however, shifted significantly once Trump won the White House
and emerged as one of Trump's top allies — speaking with him frequently
and becoming a regular presence on the golf course alongside the
president — even as McCain remained a critic.
In a 2018 interview with The Associated Press, Graham explained his
pivot by saying McCain taught him that the country must move forward
after elections and that meant “you have an obligation” to help the
president. McCain ran twice for the White House.
“And I’ve tried to be helpful where I could because I think he needs all
the help he can get,” Graham said of Trump. “You can be a better critic
when people understand that you’re trying to help them be successful.”
Graham was a prominent defender of Trump during the president's two
first-term impeachments — a reversal from Graham's role as a House
prosecutor during Democratic President Bill Clinton's impeachment in
1998, when he urged senators not to make up their minds before listening
to all of the arguments. Both Trump and Clinton were eventually
acquitted.
Graham appeared to break with Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on
the Capitol, saying in a dramatic speech on the Senate floor that night,
“Count me out. Enough is enough." But the senator soon returned to
Trump's side and the two remained close during Trump's second term.
Foreign policy was a focus for Graham
Graham had just been in Ukraine to meet with Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said the senator visited his country 10 times
during the years since Russia invaded in February 2022. “Lindsey was a
true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer,”
Zelenskyy said.
He was also one of the chief backers of Trump's war in Iran, having
advocated for years for direct confrontation between Washington and
Tehran. Graham continued to defend Trump this summer even as many of his
fellow Republicans questioned a tentative June ceasefire agreement that
they worried could send billions of dollars to Iran.
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In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office,
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and U.S. Sen. Lindsey
Graham, R-S.C. in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 10, 2026. (Ukrainian
Presidential Press Office via AP)
“I’d rather try diplomacy than take it off the table,” Graham said
of Trump’s memorandum of understanding with Tehran.
Graham's travels made him a familiar face to dozens of world
leaders.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Graham understood
that the security of Israel and the United States was inseparable.
“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a
great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend,” Netanyahu said.
Graham led both the Senate Budget and Judiciary committees
As Budget Committee chairman, Graham helped oversee a Senate
procedure that allowed Republicans to pass significant policies such
as last year’s tax law without the threat of a Democratic
filibuster.
He had previously led the Senate Judiciary Committee when
Republicans confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court in
2020. The senator was in line to regain that gavel if the party kept
its majority after the midterm elections and had pledged to confirm
"as many conservative judges as possible.”
Graham was a key player in the Senate’s efforts to craft a massive
immigration overhaul in 2013 as a member of a bipartisan group. The
legislation passed the Senate with 68 votes but was never taken up
by the House, so it did not become law.
Graham’s views on immigration, particularly an endorsement of a path
to citizenship for people in the U.S. without legal status, put him
at odds with some Republican factions.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat who was his ally on that
issue, said Graham was “part of every important policy issue and an
indispensable player” in bipartisan negotiations.
An ‘irreplaceable’ force in the Senate
Graham often worked across the aisle, even as he remained fiercely
loyal to Trump. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat, said in a
statement that “personal relationships often mattered more to him
than the political disagreements of the day."
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Graham was “over the moon”
with the Russian sanctions deal announced Friday. “The last thing in
the world I would have guessed was that he was sick or ill or in any
way vulnerable,” Blumenthal said.
Jaime Harrison, a former national and state Democratic Party
chairman who unsuccessfully ran against Graham in 2020, said that
even during their “fiercest political battles” the two men "could
still share a conversation, a laugh, and a mutual respect for South
Carolina.”
Graham was unique in the Senate for his influence not only on Trump,
but also with his fellow Republicans who were aware of his ability
to sometimes move the president’s thinking. He was also known for
his sense of humor, often deployed to defuse tensions.
Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the second-ranking Republican, said
Graham will be missed for his “quick wit and infectious laughter.”
McMaster said in a statement that Graham was “irreplaceable.” Former
Republican President George W. Bush said Graham “understood how the
world works” and “was a kind and funny man who loved our country and
loved serving it.”
Graham often spoke about his humble roots, growing up in the back of
a South Carolina bar and helping to raise his sister, Darline, after
his parents died at a young age. Graham was not married and did not
have children.
Special election to replace Graham could be within weeks
Graham won 57% of the GOP vote in South Carolina's primary in June
and was up against Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, and
several minor party and independent candidates in November.
His death will likely prompt a scramble to fill a rare open Senate
seat.
A number of Republican names began circulating as possible
replacements to serve out the rest of Graham’s term, including three
candidates who fell short for the party's nomination for governor
this year — Rep. Nancy Mace, Rep. Ralph Norman and Lt. Gov. Pamela
Evette.
Also in the mix is Rep. Russell Fry, who was elected to the House in
2022.
___
Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C. Associated Press writers Chris
Megerian and Will Weissert in Washington, Bill Barrow in Atlanta,
Brian P. D. Hannon in Bangkok and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed
to this report.
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