Long-serving GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, 71, of South Carolina passed away early Sunday, stunning President Donald Trump and the political establishment from Washington, D.C., to the Palmetto State.<\/p>\n
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Trump announced Graham\u2019s sudden passing on Truth Social, writing: \u201cSenator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead!<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW. So sad!\u201d Trump added. Now, Graham\u2019s possible cause of death has been revealed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSenator Graham\u2019s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,\u201d said a statement from the family.<\/p>\n
Emergency responders were dispatched to Graham\u2019s Capitol Hill residence Saturday night after receiving a call reporting a possible \u201ccardiac arrest,\u201d according to police scanner audio obtained by NBC News.<\/p>\n
Police vehicles and fire trucks were also present at the scene.<\/p>\n
Graham was serving as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and was running for a fifth six-year term in the Senate this November.<\/p>\n
A senior Graham aide told NBC News early Sunday that there had been no indication the senator was experiencing health problems before his death.<\/p>\n
Graham had been scheduled to appear on NBC News\u2019 Meet the Press Sunday morning, a program on which he had been a frequent guest, making 63 appearances over the years.<\/p>\n
Henry McMaster said Graham had been \u201cthe fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America\u2014and a loyal and steadfast friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Statement from the Office of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina). pic.twitter.com\/CQ5yVvqTH1<\/p>\n
\u2014 Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) July 12, 2026<\/p>\n
Per South Carolina law, McMaster will have to appoint someone to fill Graham\u2019s seat until Jan. 3, 2027. It\u2019s not clear yet who he will choose.<\/p>\n
With the general election scheduled for November, South Carolina Republicans must now select a new nominee, with state election law expected to require a special primary by Aug. 11.<\/p>\n
Just days before his death, Graham had traveled to Kyiv, where he met Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were in constant dialogue, which I will miss,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cin recent weeks he worked on important initiatives that could help bring peace closer, including strengthening sanctions against Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a powerful advocate for America who believed strongly in the NATO Alliance and was actively working to bring an end to Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine,\u201d NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsrael has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend,\u201d Netanyahu added.<\/p>\n
Graham\u2019s death comes as fellow Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) continues to recover in the hospital after emergency responders were dispatched to a residence linked to the senator last month following a report of a person in cardiac arrest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Long-serving GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, 71, of South Carolina passed away early Sunday, stunning President Donald Trump and the political establishment from Washington, D.C., to the Palmetto State. Trump … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13495"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13497,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13495\/revisions\/13497"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}