Lindsey Graham, a prominent US Senator from South Carolina, has passed away at the age of 71 following an unexpectedly brief illness.
The Republican lawmaker’s office confirmed his death, stating that he died on Saturday evening.
“Senator Graham’s family is grateful for the prayers and asks for privacy during this profoundly challenging time,” the official statement from his office expressed.
According to a report by NBC News, emergency responders were dispatched to Graham’s Washington D.C. residence on Saturday night due to a cardiac arrest.
Graham, who never married, is survived by his sister, Darline Graham Nordone, along with other family members.
His death comes just days after he visited Ukraine and met with the country’s president Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss the ongoing Russian invasion.
He later announced that an agreement had been reached with President Donald Trump to advance bipartisan legislation targeting countries buying Russian energy which would potentially clear the way for stronger pressure on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
Most recently he served on Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and as a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
US Senator Lindsey Graham has died at the age of 71 from a ‘brief and sudden illness’
His death comes just days after he visited Ukraine and met with the country’s president Volodymyr Zelensky
He has been a close ally of President Trump and a longtime hawk on Iran
He was elected to the Senate in 2002. He has been a close ally of President Trump and a longtime hawk on Iran.
He also cheered on Trump’s decision to strike nuclear sites last year and had been been a supporter of the latest conflict that started a few months ago.
Prior to serving in the Senate, Graham was elected to the House of Representatives in 1994.
As a member of the House in the 1990s, he backed policies aimed at isolating Iran and limiting its missile and nuclear programs.
Graham also served in the United States Air Force with a six-and-a-half year stint service on active duty as an Air Force lawyer.
He then went on to join the South Carolina Air National Guard until 1995, during which time he was called to active duty in the Gulf War.
He enlisted in the Air Force reserves where he achieved the rank of Colonel before he retired in June 2015.
Born in July 1955 in Central, Pickens County, Graham came from humble beginnings and was the first member of his family to go to college.
He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of South Carolina and was a practicing Baptist.
Graham had been in Ukraine to discuss the ongoing Russian invasion
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented a vyshyvanka, a traditional Slavic embroidered shirt, to Graham during his visit
The sparse statement by Graham’s office, which did not explain his death, comes during a stretch of concern about a lack of transparency about lawmakers´ health.
Tom Kean Jr, a New Jersey Republican, was absent without explanation for months before returning to Congress and disclosing that he had been diagnosed with depression.
Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, was hospitalized weeks ago for undisclosed health reasons.
Graham, who was most known for his hawkish foreign policy positions, mounted a brief bid for the party´s presidential nomination during the 2016 campaign and later was a vocal critic of Donald Trump, the eventual GOP nominee.
Yet Graham became one of the now-president´s closest allies in office, speaking with him frequently and becoming a regular presence on the golf course alongside Trump.
He especially advised the president 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.
This is a breaking news story.