US Senator Lindsey Graham, staunch Trump supporter, dead at 71

2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 12, 2026 12:21 PM IST

United States Senator Lindsey Graham died on Saturday evening following ⁠a brief and ‌sudden illness, the communications ⁠director ⁠for ⁠his ‌office shared over a ‌post on X early Sunday.

“On the evening of Saturday, July 11, US Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness,” the statement read.

“Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” it added.

Statement from the Office of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina). pic.twitter.com/CQ5yVvqTH1

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) July 12, 2026

Graham, 71 at the time of his passing, was a longtime Republican senator from South Carolina. A faithful ally of US President Donald Trump on most matters, in 2025, he had sponsored the Russia sanctions bill, warning countries that imported oil from Russia — specifically India, China and Brazil — of steep tariffs.

Who was Lindsey Graham?

Graham, a former US Air Force officer and attorney, entered the US Senate from South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District in 2003.

He was the chair of the Senate Budget Committee, as well as the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary between 2019 and 2021. Graham had also served as a member of the USAF Reserve during his time in the Congress, holding the rank of colonel after he retired in 2015.

A presidential hopeful, who sought the Republican nomination in 2016, Graham had criticised Trump’s candidacy at the time. However, he changed tracks after Trump entered the White House.

Earlier this year, Graham had called for rejecting Pakistan as the mediator for talks in West Asia, declaring that he doesn’t “trust” Islamabad, and suggested that Washington should look for an alternative mediator in order to have truce with Iran.

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The Republican senator’s remarks came after an earlier CBS News report cited US officials and stated that Pakistan allowed Iranian military aircraft to park on its airfields such as Pakistan Air Force Base Nur Khan amid the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.

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