US Senator Lindsey Graham Dies at 71

⏱ 3 min · Politics & World · As of: 31 July 2026, 09:40

The long-serving US senator Lindsey Graham has died. The Republican from South Carolina died in mid-July 2026 at the age of 71, his office said. Authorities in Washington gave the preliminary cause of death as an aortic dissection – a tear in the main artery – caused by a hardening of the arteries. Shortly before, Graham had returned from a trip to Ukraine.

A life in politics

Graham had served in the US Senate since 2003, after entering the House of Representatives in 1995. He took over the seat of the legendary Strom Thurmond and became one of the best-known faces in Congress – above all in foreign and defence policy. Seen as a hardliner, he pressed both the Trump and Biden administrations to back Ukraine and pushed for a tough line on Iran.

Reactions from both sides

President Donald Trump paid tribute to Graham as „one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known“. Former President George W. Bush and many colleagues from both parties also voiced their shock. Graham was a close friend of Senator John McCain, who died in 2018 and alongside whom he had shaped foreign policy for years.

What happens next

Graham had been seeking a fifth term. His death leaves his Senate seat open – a successor is likely to be decided at the midterm elections on 3 November 2026. Several Republican names are already circulating as possible replacements.

In context: With Graham, the US Senate loses one of its defining foreign-policy voices. His death hits the Republicans in the middle of an election year and triggers a scramble for a rare open Senate seat.

Sources: CBS News, Washington Post, NBC News, PBS, Fox News (as of July 2026).