WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. 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 Saturday evening after a “brief and sudden illness,” his office said in a statement posted on social media. He was 71.
Senator Lindsey Graham FB page
His office did not provide did not provide any additional details about the South Carolina Republican and said his family “appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”
“Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead!” Trump posted on social media early Sunday morning. “He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW. So sad!”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said “my heart is heavy this morning to learn the passing of my friend and colleague, Senator Lindsey Graham.”
“Lindsey’s long and dedicated service in the Air Force and in Congress carried him to far-flung regions of the world,” Thune said. “He was a strong advocate for the United States and a strong ally to freedom-loving countries across the globe. He believed in the might of America to achieve good in the world and dedicated his life to advancing that cause.”
First elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002 after serving in the House, the former Air Force lawyer 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 the Republican Party.
But in recent years, Graham also became well known for his close ties with Trump, whom he briefly ran against for the party’s presidential nomination in 2016.
Graham especially advised Trump on foreign policy matters such as Iran and Russia, and had just announced an agreement on Friday with the Trump administration to move forward on a package of Russia sanctions. The senator had been in Ukraine to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said that the senator visited his country 10 times during the years of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer,” Zelenskyy said.
His travels made him a familiar face to dozens of world leaders.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday mourned Graham’s death, calling him “a great friend of Israel” and “a cherished friend of mine.”
Netanyahu said Graham understood that the security of Israel and the United States is inseparable and devoted his life to defending America, strengthening the U.S.-Israel alliance and standing up for the free world.
“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend,” Netanyahu said, extending condolences to Graham’s family and the American people.Graham had been serving as the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, giving him a central role during Trump’s second term as Republicans pushed major legislation on party-line votes with a slim majority in the chamber.
His committee oversaw a process called reconciliation, a Senate procedure that allowed Republicans to pass significant policies such as last year’s tax law without the threat of a Democratic filibuster.
Graham was a key player in the Senate’s efforts to craft a massive immigration overhaul in 2013 as a member of the so-called Gang of Eight, a bipartisan group that wrote a sweeping measure that would have altered virtually every part of U.S. immigration law. It passed the Senate with 68 votes but was never taken up by the House, so it did not become law.
But Graham’s views on immigration, particularly an endorsement of a pathway to citizenship for people in the U.S. without legal status, put him at odds with some Republican factions.
He sometimes faced primary challenges in his home state of South Carolina, but he won the nomination outright in June while running for a fifth term. Graham was slated to face Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician from Charleston, in November’s general election.
The senator addressed the president in his victory speech last month, saying, “I’m going to help you change this world and change this country.”
The sparse statement by Graham’s office, which did not explain his death,
McMaster said in a statement that Graham was “irreplaceable.”
Governor Henry McMaster FB page
Graham was not married and did not have children. His closest living relative is sister Darline Graham Nordone, whom he helped raise after both their parents died.
Chris Megerian in Washington, Brian P. D. Hannon in Bangkok and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
