US Sen. Lindsey Graham, an Air Force veteran, dies at 71

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a retired Air Force colonel, has died at age 71 after a brief and unexpected illness, his office said in a post to social media.

“Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” read the early Sunday statement.

A later statement from Graham’s office said the Medical Examiner of the District of Columbia’s preliminary findings are that the senator died of aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. That is an aorta rupture stemming from hardening of the arteries.

Graham, a longtime U.S. senator from South Carolina, had for decades been a leading Republican Party voice for a more active U.S. role in global affairs, often backing the use of the military overseas.

In a post to Truth Social, President Donald Trump called Graham “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known.”

“He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!!” Trump said.

NBC News reported that emergency personnel responded late Saturday to a call for cardiac arrest at Graham’s home in Washington, D.C., citing police scanner audio.

There had been no other recent public indication of poor health. NBC said Graham had been scheduled to appear on “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

Graham had just returned from a trip to Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian leader said on X that it was Graham’s 10th visit to Ukraine.

Sen. Lindsey Graham talks with then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley in April 2018. (Joe Gromelsi/Special to Stars and Stripes)

Sen. Lindsey Graham talks with Sen. John McCain during a May 2015 news conference calling for continuation of the A-10 Warthog program. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)

Gen. Joseph L. Votel, then-commander of the U.S. Central Command, shakes hands with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., as and Gen. Thomas D. Waldhauser, commander of U.S. Africa Command, and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, watch before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, March 13, 2018. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)

Sen. Lindsey Graham stands in front of Elton John at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on HIV/AIDS prevention in May 2015. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, talks with Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel Chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., before a defense bill markup hearing on Capitol Hill, May 10, 2016. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)

Sen. Lindsey Grahan, R-S.C., at a hearing in February, 2016. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)

Graham was one of Washington’s most outspoken supporters of arming Ukraine following Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Praise for Graham came from leaders at home and from around the world.

“Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer,” Zelenskyy said in a statement. “He visited Ukraine ten times during the years of Russia’s full-scale invasion and was here with our people when it was most needed. We remained in constant dialogue, and I will miss our conversations. We met twice in just the past week.”

Graham had also long advocated a tougher U.S. approach toward Iran and strongly supported Trump’s decision to wage war against the country earlier this year.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on social media that Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. “America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend,” he said.

Democrat U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina expressed his shock and sadness in a statement Sunday expressing his condolences.

“For more than three decades, we served the people of the Palmetto state together in Congress. Throughout that time, we maintained a relationship grounded in mutual respect, even when our political differences were significant,” Clyburn wrote. “His commitment to public service and the people he represented will remain an enduring part of his legacy.”

Trump and Graham not always allies. When Graham and Trump competed for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, Graham warned that Trump’s positions on Muslims, Russia and U.S. alliances could undermine national security, calling him a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.”

Graham later became one of Trump’s most vocal supporters, saying the president deserved a Nobel Peace Prize and calling him the “gold standard for Republicans, maybe any president, when it comes to foreign policy.”

Col. Lindsey Graham, a senior Senator from South Carolina, chats with Command Chief Master Sgt. Thomas Narofsky, 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Command Chief, during a briefing in April 2007. (Ian Carrier/U.S. Air Force)

Col. Lindsey Graham, a senior senator from South Carolina, is presented a 386th Expeditionary Medical Group coin by Col. Andrew Montiero in the Contingency Air Medical Staging Facility on the Rock on April 9. (Ian Carrier/U.S. Air Force)

A native South Carolinian, Graham served for 33 years in the Air Force and Air Force Reserve, including active duty service in Germany as an Air Force lawyer, according to a biography on his office’s website. He retired from the Air Force Reserve in 2015 as a colonel.

“During American military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Graham put his experience in military law to use pulling numerous short-term Reserve duties in both countries over congressional breaks and holidays,” the biography said.

He retired in 2015 as a colonel.

Graham was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1994 and to the Senate in 2002. He was re-elected in 2008, 2014 and 2020.

Contributing: Tribune News Service

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina meets with U.S. service members during a visit to Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia on April 15, 2023. (Stephani Barge/U.S. Air Force)