00:00Longtime South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham died on July 11th.
00:04Following a brief illness at the age of 71, his office confirmed.
00:09Senator Graham's family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.
00:15Graham's office said on X, emergency officials responded to Graham's Capitol Hill home at around 8.30 p.m.
00:23when they received a report about an individual suffering from chest pains.
00:26The Washington Post reported, citing police scanner audio.
00:31Officials performed CPR on the man as he went into cardiac arrest nearly a half hour later and was rushed
00:36to George Washington University Hospital, according to the outlet.
00:40Graham, a staunch ally of President Trump, was scheduled to appear on NBC News' Meet the Press the following morning.
00:47The septuagenarian had shown no signs of feeling unwell before his death, a staffer told NBC News.
00:53Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and senators I have ever known, is dead.
00:58Trump mourned on Truth Social.
01:00He was always working and was a true American patriot.
01:03Lindsey will be greatly missed.
01:05Graham had just returned to the U.S. after a trip to Ukraine where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky
01:11to discuss the ongoing war against Russia.
01:14Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer, Zelensky wrote on X.
01:20He visited Ukraine 10 times during the years of Russia's full-scale invasion and was here with our people when
01:25it was most needed.
01:27The Seneca, South Carolina resident has represented the Palmetto State in the U.S. Senate since 2003, succeeding outgoing 100
01:34-year-old Strom Thurmond.
01:35He held key positions in the upper chamber, including as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.
01:41Before his four-term Senate career, Graham represented South Carolina's 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House between 1995
01:48and 2003.
01:50Graham had served in the U.S. Air Force as an active duty lawyer, retiring in 2015 as a colonel
01:56with the Air Force Reserves.
01:57He was a fierce critic of Iran and introduced several bills aimed at limiting the Islamic regime's nuclear capabilities and
02:04isolating the rogue nation.
02:06He regularly advocated for extending Trump's wartime powers as the U.S. negotiated a ceasefire with Iran in hopes of
02:13reopening the Strait of Hormuz while ensuring Iran doesn't rebuild its nuclear program.
02:19Graham was seeking his fifth Senate term and won the South Carolina GOP primary on June 9th,
02:24receiving a majority of 56.78 percent of the vote against five challengers.
02:29Because Graham died as the state party's Senate nominee, Republican officials will hold a special primary election, according to state
02:36election law.
