Cause of death for leading US senator, Trump ally revealed
Lindsey Graham, a prominent US senator who was a key ally of President Donald Trump, died over the weekend after a tear in his aorta, according to a preliminary medical exam.
The finding was shared by his office on Monday morning, hours after his death was initially announced.
US Senator Lindsey Graham has died after a sudden illness, his office has said. AP
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.
“On the evening of Saturday, July 11, US Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness,” a statement issued by the senator’s office read on Sunday evening (AEST).
“Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”
Graham, a former US Air Force lawyer and reservist who ended his military career as a colonel, was first elected to represent South Carolina in the Senate in 2002.
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”.
On Truth Social, Trump called Graham a “dear friend” and a “truly great man”.
“He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!!” Trump wrote.
The president ordered that flags across the country be flown at half-staff until next Saturday evening.
A noted hawk, Graham was one of the most influential figures in Washington on foreign 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 Governor 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’s close, complex Trump relationship
Graham, elected to the Senate in 2002 after serving in the House, long promoted a policy of robust US military interventionism and strong national defence that in later years would put him at odds with the growing isolationist wing of his party.
Graham had a close but complex relationship with Donald Trump. AP Photo/Alex Brandon
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 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 independent Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, were known as the “Three Amigos” and frequently travelled together to promote their foreign policy views around the globe.
During a campaign rally in South Carolina, Trump read out Graham’s personal mobile phone 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.
Graham, a prominent supporter of Ukraine, had just returned from a visit to Kyiv. AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
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 January 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.
Senator’s foreign policy focus
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.
“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 US was inseparable.
“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend,” Netanyahu said.
An ‘irreplaceable’ force in the Senate
Graham often worked across the aisle, even as he remained fiercely loyal to Trump.
Virginia Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat, said in a statement that “personal relationships often mattered more to him than the political disagreements of the day.”
Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal 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 humour, often deployed to diffuse tensions.
Wyoming Senator 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 could come within weeks
Graham won 57 per cent 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 Representatives Nancy Mace and Russell Fry.
The brief statement by Graham’s office did not explain the circumstances of his death, which came at a time when there has been some concern about a lack of transparency about the health of some members of Congress.
Republican Representative Tom Kean Jr was absent without explanation for months before recently returning to Congress and disclosing he had been diagnosed with depression.
Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the former longtime Republican leader, was hospitalised weeks ago for undisclosed health reasons.
Graham’s own social media accounts remained active on the day of his death, with posts celebrating investment, Trump Accounts, and new sanctions on Russia.
Reported with Associated Press
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