Lindsey Graham dies at 71: What we know about the pivotal Republican senator and Trump critic-turned-ally's cause of death

US Senator Lindsey Graham, a key Republican who went from a vocal critic of Donald Trump to one of his most loyal allies on Capitol Hill after Trump became president, has died at age 71. He was not married and lived in Seneca, South Carolina. The South Carolina lawmaker died after ‌a "brief and sudden illness", ⁠his office ⁠posted on X early on Sunday (July 12, 2026). Emergency personnel responded to a call for “cardiac arrest” at Graham’s Capitol Hill home on Saturday night, NBC News reported, citing police scanner audio obtained by the outlet.


Following his death, Trump called Graham "one of the greatest people and senators I have known" and a hard-working patriot. During the 2016 campaign, during which Graham was among many Republicans who lost the presidential nomination to Trump, he posted on social media: "If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed ... and we will deserve it."


Later, after becoming a staunch supporter, Graham publicly disagreed with Trump's early 2025 decision to ⁠pardon about ‌1,500 of the president's supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, saying it could lead to more violence. According to Graham’s website, he "consistently pushed for outcomes in the War on Terror that ⁠protect our long-term national security interests." He was a prominent supporter of Israel and Ukraine and an opponent of Iran.

Graham recently served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and was a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Graham, a former Air Force lawyer and member of the South Carolina Air National Guard, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002. Before that, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994 for South Carolina's 3rd congressional district, according to his website.