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Graham’s Death and Tributes
Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who died late on Saturday at 71 after a “brief and sudden illness,” drew tributes from NATO allies, Ukraine and Israel as Washington marked the loss of a high-profile figure in global foreign policy.
ABC7 Chicago reported that Trump asked U.S. flags be lowered to half-staff until the evening at 6 p.m. ET in memory of Graham, while NPR said preliminary findings from the District of Columbia medical examiner showed the cause of death as aortic dissection due to a type of heart disease.
In Washington, DC, Al Jazeera recalled Graham’s appearance on Fox News during Hurricane Helene’s aftermath in 2024, when he shifted from South Carolina’s storm response to his concern about Israel amid its war on Gaza.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Graham was “a powerful advocate for America who believed strongly in the NATO Alliance,” and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Graham “was here with our people when it was most needed.”
Foreign Policy Legacy Split
Reactions to Graham’s legacy split along familiar lines as Israeli and NATO figures praised his advocacy while other accounts emphasized his hawkish approach to Iran and military intervention.
Al Jazeera quoted Graham saying, “Our friends in Israel, surrounded by people that want to kill them, destroy them, a second Holocaust in the making,” and it also included his warning that “Biden says, ‘Be proportional.’”
The Guardian described Graham’s global reach and said “It was revealing that one of the first tributes to Lindsey Graham” came from Itamar Ben-Gvir, while also quoting Zelenskyy’s tribute that he was “a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer.”
NPR said Graham was “the last surviving member of an influential group of Senate defense hawks,” and it quoted Senate Majority Leader John Thune calling him “a strong advocate for the United States and a strong ally to freedom-loving countries across the globe.”
What Happens Next in the Senate
Graham’s death immediately raised questions about Senate staffing and the timing of legislative work, with NPR noting that his death came as the Senate Republican conference faced a narrow majority and ongoing absences.
“Prominent American Senator Lindsey Graham died at the age of 71, shortly after contracting a brief, sudden illness”
NPR said Senate Majority Leader John Thune faced a difficult path because Sen. Mitch McConnell “has missed votes during an ongoing hospitalization for an undisclosed health issue,” further narrowing margins for Thune to pass legislation and confirm nominees.
The Arab Weekly reported that the contest to succeed Graham in reliably Republican South Carolina would not affect the broader fight for control of the Senate in the November midterm elections, and it said South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster could appoint a temporary replacement under state law.
It also said Republicans would compete in a special party primary election on August 11, with a runoff set for August 25 if no candidate wins a majority, and that the winner would face Democrat Annie Andrews in the November general election.
