US senator Lindsey Graham dies age 71

WASHINGTON,— Prominent U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina and one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies in Congress, died Saturday at age 71 after what his office called a “brief and sudden illness.”

His office announced the death in a statement posted on his official X account early Sunday.

“On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness,” the statement said.

It added that his family was asking for privacy and appreciated prayers during “this incredibly difficult period.”

President Trump wrote a tribute on his Truth Social platform Sunday, calling Graham “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known.”

He described the senator as “always working” and “a true American Patriot,” adding that he would be “greatly missed.”

Graham built a long career centered on foreign policy. He backed military action in Iran and, in recent years, pressed both the Trump and Biden administrations to support Ukraine in its war against Russia’s invasion.

He met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv as recently as Friday, where he reportedly called for stronger economic sanctions on Russia and its allies.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, October 27, 2023. Photo: Creative commons/Gage Skidmore/

Zelensky later wrote on X that he valued Graham’s support, noting it was the senator’s tenth trip to Ukraine.

Graham ran for president in 2016 but dropped out early, at one point warning fellow Republicans against supporting Trump, whom he called a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.”

His relationship with Trump later grew strained after the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, when Graham said Republicans should “count me out, enough is enough.”

He nonetheless voted against convicting Trump during the impeachment trial that followed. Once Trump returned to the White House, the two mended ties, and Graham backed his reelection campaign.

Graham was also known as a firm supporter of Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that Graham was “a great friend of Israel and a cherished friend of mine,” adding that he understood how closely tied the security of Israel and the United States were.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he was “shocked and heartbroken” by the news, calling Graham “a beacon of moral clarity” in the U.S.-Israel relationship and thanking him for his “sense of justice, truth, and loyalty.”

Graham entered politics in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994 before winning a Senate seat in 2002. Voters returned him to the Senate in 2008, 2014 and 2020, and he most recently led the Senate Budget Committee.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster called him “irreplaceable” and “the fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America.”

Before entering politics, Graham served as a military lawyer and reached the rank of Air Force colonel, a background that shaped his hawkish views on foreign affairs.

In 2002, he voted to back military action in Iraq following the September 11 attacks and later supported keeping U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

From right: U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, General Mazloum Abdi, Elham Ahmed, Senator Peter Welch, and Senator Richard Blumenthal, Munich, Germany, February 14, 2026. Photo: Abdi’s X/via iKurd.net/enhanced.

He also criticized President Barack Obama’s handling of foreign policy, calling him a “weak opponent of evil” in 2015 over the nuclear agreement reached with Iran.

Graham was also seen as a strong ally of Kurdish communities around the world.

In January 2026, he introduced legislation meant to protect Kurds living in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), as they faced renewed attacks from the Syrian government and allied Islamist groups.

The bill, named the “Save the Kurds” Act, would place sanctions on Syrian government officials and financial institutions. It would also target foreign individuals who give military or financial backing to the Syrian government.

(With files from AFP | Agencies)