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Reuters

US Senator Lindsey Graham, a key Republican who went from a vocal critic of Donald Trump to one of his most loyal allies after Trump became president, has died, his office announced on Sunday. He was 71.
The South Carolina lawmaker died after a “brief and sudden illness”, his office said early on Sunday. US media said emergency staff had responded to a call for cardiac arrest at his ‌Capitol Hill home in Washington on Saturday night.
Preliminary finding from the medical examiner found Graham died from aorta rupture stemming from hardening of the arteries, Associated Press reported.
The contest to succeed Graham will not impact the broader fight for control of the Senate in ‌November between Republicans and Democrats, as South Carolina is a reliably Republican state.
However, his death robs Trump of a dependable Senate vote as the president seeks to push his agenda in the closely divided Senate. “He’s a tough one to lose,” Trump told NBC’s Meet the Press programme.
“He was great. He was unique in every way.”
Another senior Republican in the upper chamber – Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky – remains in hospital for undisclosed health problems. Trump, speaking on CNN’s State of the Union programme, said Graham, who had just returned from a trip to Ukraine, called him on Saturday night.
“Other than being tired, he was fine,” Trump said. The president said he received news of Graham’s death early on Sunday morning.
Under South Carolina law, the state’s Republican governor, Henry McMaster, can immediately appoint a temporary replacement to fill Graham’s seat. South Carolina Republicans must then also hold an ⁠expedited primary election to pick a nominee for the November midterm election. That nominee does not have to be the same person McMaster picks as a temporary replacement.

Staunch advocate for Ukraine
Graham, a defence hawk, was a prominent supporter of Israel and Ukraine ‌and an opponent of Iran. He had been scheduled to appear on Meet the Press on Sunday morning, the network said.
On Friday Graham met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv and the Ukrainian leader said the two discussed Ukraine’s ⁠air defence needs and a Russia sanctions bill.
Graham said China could play a decisive role in pressuring Russia towards peace talks, helping end its war in Ukraine.
“The road to ending this war, the road to peace, ⁠passes through Beijing more than it does [through] Washington, Kyiv or Moscow,” Graham told reporters at Kyiv’s Mykhailivska Square. “China has an oversized influence. I’d like them to use their influence for the good of the world.”
“I don’t believe [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is there yet but it wouldn’t take much to get him there.”
Zelensky noted that Graham had visited Ukraine 10 times since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. He said, “We will always be especially grateful for the recognition of our people and words ‌of admiration for the courage of Ukraine’s defenders.”
After his death was announced, Trump called Graham “one of the greatest people and senators I have ever known” and a hard-working patriot.
Zelensky said he was “deeply saddened” by the news, calling Graham “a true defender of freedom ‌and the values that make our world safer”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement: “Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I ⁠have lost a beloved friend.” Netanyahu expects to attend Graham’s ⁠funeral, a senior Israeli official said.

Once bitter Trump critic
During the 2016 presidential campaign, in which Graham was among many Republicans who lost the nomination to Trump, he posted on social media: “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed … and we will deserve it.”
Graham told CNN in ‌2015 that Trump was “a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot”, adding: “He doesn’t represent my party. He doesn’t represent the values that the men and women who wear the uniform are fighting for.”
Later, after becoming a loyal supporter and frequent golf partner, Graham still publicly disagreed with Trump’s decision upon returning to office ‌last year ‌to pardon about 1,500 of the president’s supporters who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, saying it could lead to more violence.
“They did not always agree, but they always agreed to disagree without being disagreeable. … ‌They figured out how to have a friendship,” Graham’s Republican colleague from South Carolina, Senator Tim Scott, told Meet the Press.
Graham ‌recently served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and was a member of the Committee on Appropriations, the Judiciary Committee and the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
A former Air Force lawyer and member of the South Carolina Air National Guard, Graham was elected to the Senate in 2002. Before that, he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1994 for South Carolina’s 3rd congressional district, according to his website.
He never married and lived in Seneca, South Carolina.
Additional reporting by Associated Press


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Obituaries

US Senator Lindsey Graham in Kyiv, Ukraine on Friday. On Sunday, Graham’s office confirmed he had died after a sudden illness. Photo: AP

US President Donald Trump, right, and Graham during a campaign rally in North Charleston, South Carolina in 2020. Photo: EPA

Graham speaks to the press after a US military briefing about action in Iran, at the US Capitol in Washington on March 3. Photo: AFP

Ukraine war: Russia puts US Senator Lindsey Graham on wanted list

US Senator Lindsey Graham speaks during a press conference at an open air exhibition of destroyed Russian military vehicles in Kyiv. Photo: AFP

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky welcoming US Senator Lindsey Graham in Kyiv. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters

Assassinations unleashed under Trump haunt Iran war endgame

Mourners carry an anti-Trump banner in Mashhad, Iran, on thursday. Photo: WANA via Reuters

A woman stands beneath an anti-Trump and Netanyahu banner in Mashhad, Iran, on Thursday. Photo: WANA via Reuters

Trump surprises Nato allies EU, Ukraine with arms deals as summit ends positively

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump at the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday. Photo: TNS

Trump speaks during a meeting with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte at the summit in Ankara on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Democrat Graham Platner exits key US Senate race, but denies rape allegation

Graham Platner at campaign town hall event. He plans to withdraw from the Maine Senate race after sexual assault claim. Photo: TNS

US opens door for Turkey’s return to F-35 stealth jet programme – but Israel’s not happy

A US military F-35 fighter jet flies overhead during Independence Day celebrations in Washington on July 4. Photo: AFP

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) welcomes US President Donald Trump to Ankara ahead of the Nato Heads of State and Government Summit on Tuesday. Photo: Turkish Presidency/dpa

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a news conference in Jerusalem on June 15. Photo: TNS

The new Air Force One, flanked by F35s, flies over the US Marine Corps War Memorial, to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence on July 4. Photo: EPA

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‘He’s a tough one to lose,’ Trump said on Sunday, calling the war hawk ‘one of the greatest people I have known’


‘He’s a tough one to lose,’ Trump said on Sunday, calling the war hawk ‘one of the greatest people I have known’.


US senator and Trump ally Lindsey Graham dies at 71 after sudden illness

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}‘He’s a tough one to lose,’ Trump said on Sunday, calling the war hawk ‘one of the greatest people I have known’

‘He’s a tough one to lose,’ Trump said on Sunday, calling the war hawk ‘one of the greatest people I have known’