The longtime South Carolina state senator had just returned from a trip abroad and was scheduled to appear on television the next morning.
WASHINGTON – On the morning of July 12, many Americans turned on their televisions expecting to see a familiar face on Sunday political talk shows: Sen. Lindsey Graham.
The South Carolina Republican had just completed an overseas trip to the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, where he was traveling with a bipartisan delegation of lawmakers. He has made countless such trips during the more than 30 years he has lived in Washington. He also met separately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kiev before returning to Washington, D.C., for the Senate to return from its scheduled two-week recess.
Graham’s travels around the world led to a major spot on the network and he was scheduled to appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” It was a familiar pattern for a senator known around Washington (and around the world) for frequently being in the thick of politics (and not exactly accustomed to television cameras).
Instead, when he suddenly passed away the night before, shock reverberated across Washington and the nation.
Graham’s office said in a statement that he passed away on Saturday, July 11, after a “short, sudden illness.” No further details were immediately released. He was 71 years old.
His colleagues in Congress were stunned.
“There are no words to describe Lindsey Graham, my friend of more than 30 years,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) said in a statement. “It’s possible to succeed Lindsey Graham, but it’s impossible to replace him.”
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said he will miss Mr. Graham’s “contagious laugh, wit and zest for life.”
Tim Scott, another Republican senator representing South Carolina, said Graham always “bred resourcefulness to the most difficult moments.”
“South Carolina has lost a politician and I have lost a friend,” he said in a statement.
Perhaps the biggest shock, other than Graham’s allies in the Capitol, came from across Pennsylvania Avenue. President Donald Trump, who often confided in and had a close relationship with Mr. Graham, said the country had lost “one of the greatest men and senators I have ever known.”
“Details and arrangements to come,” President Trump wrote on social media. “so sad!”
Graham was seeking re-election in the deep red state this year. His death will temporarily leave the seat open for a Republican candidate, but the seat will likely remain red regardless of the candidate. South Carolina’s Republican governor, Henry McMaster, plans to appoint an interim replacement until the next Congress is sworn in in January.
Zachary Schermele is USA TODAY’s Congressional Correspondent. You can email us at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and on Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social..
