July 12 (UPI) — Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham died suddenly on Saturday night, two days after his 71st birthday, his office announced.
Graham had just returned from a trip to Ukraine, where he toured a drone factory and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, CBS News and The Washington Post reported.
“On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness,” his office said in a statement posted to X.
“Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” the statement said.
Graham had been scheduled to appear on NBC’s “Meet The Press” on Sunday morning, which instead featured an interview with President Donald Trump, who said that he’d spoken with the senator on Saturday after he’d returned from Ukraine.
“Other than being tired, he was fine,” Trump said.
Graham, who was first elected to the Senate in 2002, had already won South Carolina’s Republican Senate primary and now will have to be replaced on the ticket.
The state is expected to hold a special primary in the next few weeks so that voters can choose a new candidate.
Bonnie Tyler
Singer Bonnie Tyler performs the song “Believe in Me” during the dress rehearsal for the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, Sweden, on May 17, 2013. Tyler, best known for her hit songs “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Holding Out For a Hero,” died at the age of 75 on July 8. Photo by Jessica Gow/EPA