Sen. Lindsey Graham, Four-Term South Carolina Republican and Trump Ally, Dies at 71

Multiple major news organizations confirmed the death of the hawkish foreign-policy voice and close ally of President Trump, who died over the weekend after a brief illness.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, the four-term South Carolina Republican who rose from small-town lawyer to one of the Senate's most prominent voices on foreign policy and a close ally of President Trump, has died at 71. His death over the weekend was confirmed by multiple major news organizations, including The Washington Post, CNN, Time, and Al Jazeera; his office attributed it to a "brief and sudden illness."

Graham was first elected to the Senate in 2003 after four terms in the U.S. House, serving South Carolina in Washington for more than three decades. A retired Air Force colonel who spent years in the Judge Advocate General's Corps and received a Bronze Star, he built a reputation as a hawkish internationalist — a staunch supporter of Israel, Ukraine, and NATO — and as a dealmaker willing to reach across the aisle on issues such as immigration. He chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2019 to 2021 and, at the time of his death, led the Senate Budget Committee.

Tributes crossed party lines. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster called Graham "the fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America."

Under South Carolina law, McMaster may appoint a successor to the vacant seat, and he is expected to act quickly. A Republican primary is scheduled for Aug. 11, with a runoff on Aug. 25 if no candidate wins a majority; Graham's term runs through January. Trump has said he has a preferred candidate in mind but has not named the person publicly.

— Compiled from reporting by The Washington Post, CNN, Time, and Al Jazeera