South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham’s cause of death has been revealed.
The 71-year-old Republican died from an aortic rupture caused by hardened arteries, the Medical Examiner of the District of Columbia concluded in a preliminary report on Sunday, according to The Associated Press.
A fourth-term senator and staunch ally of President Donald Trump, Graham died on Saturday evening in Washington, D.C. In a statement issued early on Sunday morning, his office said that the lawmaker passed away after a “brief and sudden illness.” Emergency dispatch audio indicated that paramedics were called to his home around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday in response to a cardiac arrest.
News of his death rippled quickly through the capitol, catching colleagues off guard, prompting an outpouring of tributes from both sides of the aisle and raising questions about who might be tapped to fill his seat.
Speaking to NBC News on Sunday morning, President Donald Trump said he was shocked to hear the news. He described Graham as having been “like a member of the family.”
The 80-year-old president revealed that Graham had called him around 7 p.m. on Saturday in what Trump said may have been his last phone call. He said Graham — fresh off a trip from Ukraine — sounded “a little tired.”
The president, who praised the senator as an invaluable ally on Capitol Hill, ordered that all American flags across the country be flown at half-mast until Saturday in Graham’s honor.
In lengthy posts on social media, Senate colleagues remembered Graham as a hard worker who would be willing to reach across the aisle to pass legislation.
“He was willing to work on gnarly issues and take on (at times) political risks for the right reasons,” Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, wrote on X. Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, wrote: “Lindsey was a fearless patriot, a devoted public servant, and one of the fiercest advocates for America’s national security.”
Graham’s career largely came to be defined by his evolution from Trump antagonist to one of the president’s most dependable supporters.
When both men were running for president in 2015, Graham labeled Trump a “xenophobic religious bigot.” But, upon winning the presidency, the frost thawed quickly, and Graham emerged as a frequent and forceful defender of the president. After fending off a primary challenge last month, Graham thanked Trump for his endorsement, calling him “not far behind God.”
A foreign policy hawk, the South Carolina senator was an aggressive supporter of the Iran war and repeatedly pressed the U.S. to do more to defend Ukraine.
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