Lindsey Graham, a longtime Republican senator from South Carolina, died suddenly on Saturday night, his office said.
Graham, whose 71st birthday was Thursday, recently returned from Ukraine after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky. Graham told reporters in Kyiv on Friday that a bipartisan group of senators had reached an agreement with the White House to impose new sanctions on Russia in an effort to end that country’s long-running war with Ukraine.
In its statement early Sunday, Graham’s office said only that the senator had “passed away from a brief and sudden illness.” The statement said that Graham’s family appreciates prayers and asks for privacy.
Emergency medical responders worked to stabilize a man at Graham’s home on Saturday night and transport him to a hospital, according to police scanner audio obtained by The Washington Post and eyewitnesses.
Graham, a leading GOP foreign policy voice, was running for reelection this year.
Graham’s death narrows Republicans’ majority in the Senate, where they had held a 53-47 edge. Under South Carolina law, the state’s Republican governor can make an immediate appointment to fill Graham’s seat for the remainder of his term, which expires in January.
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