Senator Lindsey Graham died of aortic tear, examiner says
21 hours ago
<img src="https://healthylife7.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/c3779220-7e9b-11f1-bff3-4914dc3e2c6b.jpg.webp" alt="Getty Images Lindsey Graham, a man with short, grey hair, wears a black suit with a white shirt and a red and black tie. He is looking to the right. The background behind him is blurred, with a hanging American flag.”>
Getty Images
US Senator Lindsey Graham died of an “aortic dissection” caused by cardiovascular disease, according to a preliminary finding by the Washington DC medical examiner
An aortic dissection is a tear in the main artery that carries blood to the body
Graham, a close Republican ally of President Donald Trump, died at the age of 71 on Saturday evening
Elected to the Senate in 2002, the South Carolina politician was one of Washington’s most influential voices on foreign policy, often pushing for US military intervention overseas
Trump pushes for Lindsey Graham’s sister as replacement after senator’s death from aortic tear
Graham’s spokesperson said the death certificate would be pending until “all the toxicological and microscopic testing” was finalised
The senator had just returned from a trip to Kyiv, Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday
Zelensky said he was “deeply saddened” by Graham’s death, writing on X: “Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer.”
Graham was known for his interventionist stance on foreign policy, and had strongly supported the war in Iran
Last month, he told CBS that the US would “obliterate” Iran if it did not submit to US control of the Strait of Hormuz
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, “Lindsey understood that the security of Israel and America are inseparable.”
Israel lost “one of its greatest friends”, he added
Graham had previously been a critic of Trump, and ahead of the 2016 presidential election said: “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed… and we will deserve it.”
However, he voted against convicting Trumpin his 2021 impeachment trial, and supported Trump’s election in 2024
“There is a dark side to Donald Trump… and he was a very good president. But I am sticking with him because I saw what he did,” Graham told the BBC in 2023
Graham cited Trump’s record on the US southern border, the killing of Iran’s powerful military commander Qasem Soleimani and the appointment of conservative judges
Following Graham’s death, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has the power to appoint a temporary replacement to serve out the remainder of Graham’s term, which ends in January
His successor will be chosen in the November midterm elections
Before Graham’s death, Republicans held a 53-47 majority over Democrats in the Senate. Both parties are fighting for Senate control in November
Curbing Russia, helping Israel and fighting Iran – Lindsey Graham’s political identity
US senator and close Trump ally Lindsey Graham dies after ‘brief and sudden illness’
‘Complete, utter disaster’ – Lindsey Graham reacts to Zelensky meeting
Lindsey Graham
Donald Trump
