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Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican whose three decades in Congress made him one of the most influential voices on national security, the federal judiciary and President Donald Trump’s agenda, died Saturday night at 71.

Graham’s office said in a statement that the seven-term senator died following what it described as a “brief and sudden illness.” It did not disclose a cause of death or provide additional details, saying only that his family was requesting privacy as they grieve.

His death leaves Senate Republicans without one of their most experienced lawmakers and opens a series of consequential questions for Congress and South Carolina politics.

Graham’s death came less than 24 hours after returning from Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and announced progress on a new Russia sanctions package, an ending that reflected the role he occupied for much of his Senate career as one of Congress’s most outspoken advocates for an assertive American foreign policy.

He was scheduled to appear on NBC’s Meet the Press this morning.

A sudden loss: “Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead!” President Trump posted to Truth Social early this morning. “He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!!”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) expressed deep grief after learning of Graham’s death.

“He was a trusted adviser and colleague to me and many others, and numerous presidents and heads of state have relied on his counsel,” Thune said. “His influence on the federal judiciary, our national defense, and his beloved South Carolina will be felt for generations.”

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said Graham always put his faith, family, and South Carolina first.

“Lindsey remained committed to public service and doing what he loved,” Scott added. “He always introduced levity and brought wit to the most challenging moments. Lindsey will be missed.”

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A “South Carolina story”: Graham was raised in a working-class family whose parents operated a restaurant and pool hall. He became the first member of his family to graduate from college.

He served as an active-duty Air Force Judge Advocate in the South Carolina Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. He retired as a colonel after more than three decades of military service that shaped his identity as a legislator and informed nearly every major foreign policy position he took.

Graham was elected to the South Carolina House in 1992 during the Republican Party’s rapid growth in the state before he was elected to the U.S. House two years later, where he served as one of the House managers during President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial. During his eight years in the lower chamber, he established his reputation as a constitutional conservative and developed a close friendship with the late John McCain (R-Ariz.).

“Lindsey’s story is a South Carolina story,” Rep. Sheri Biggs (R-S.C.), who now represents Graham’s former House district, said in a statement.

After Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), Graham was elected to the Senate in 2002 and served continuously until his death, earning reelection in 2008, 2014 and 2020.

A consequential career: During the George W. Bush era, Graham was viewed as a defense hawk, an immigration reform advocate, an institutional conservative and a bipartisan dealmaker. He worked closely with McCain and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), a trio that became known for aggressive interventionist foreign policy.

By the 119th Congress, he chaired the Senate Budget Committee, a largely procedural panel that he transformed into the engine room of President Trump’s legislative agenda. He helped engineer the budget resolutions that unlocked the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the Secure America Act, then emerged as one of the most vocal advocates for using reconciliation a third time to enact additional Republican priorities—including defense funding and, if procedurally possible, elements of the SAVE America Act.

In addition to Budget, Graham’s major committee assignments also included Appropriations, Judiciary and Environment and Public Works. On Appropriations, he chaired the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, giving him significant influence over diplomacy and foreign aid. As Judiciary Chair during Trump’s first term, he helped oversee confirmation of numerous federal judges, including Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

He was once again set to be the top Senate Judiciary Republican in the next Congress.

Foreign policy was Graham’s defining issue. Unlike many modern Republicans, he remained a traditional Reagan-era internationalist who held core positions on strong NATO support, expansive American military power, robust defense spending and aggressive sanctions. Graham also strongly advocated for a close U.S.-Israel alliance, strong support for Ukraine and willingness to use force against Iran when necessary.

“He was a powerful advocate for America who believed strongly in the NATO Alliance and was actively working to bring an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said about Graham.

Zelenskyy said America and the world lost a leader committed to freedom in the U.S. and across the world.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Graham understood that the security of Israel and America is inseparable.

“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends,” Netanyahu added. “America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend.”

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The Trump transformation: Perhaps no relationship defines Graham’s career more than his with Trump.

When Graham ran for president during the 2016 cycle, he sharply criticized Trump and called him unfit for office. By the end of Trump’s first term, Graham had become one of the president’s closest Senate allies.

Following January 6, Graham briefly appeared to distance himself, but the break proved temporary. Within months, he had re-emerged as one of Trump’s most reliable Senate defenders.

By the time of Trump’s return to office, Graham functioned as a trusted informal adviser, Senate foreign-policy surrogate, public defender on Sunday television, and behind-the-scenes negotiator. Yet he still occasionally departed from Trump on tactical or international questions.

This shift from outspoken Trump critic to close ally attracted criticism across the ideological spectrum, with claims that Graham was politically inconsistent.

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The road ahead: Graham was up for reelection this year and comfortably won renomination last month with 57% of the vote, avoiding a runoff under South Carolina law, which requires a majority to win outright. His closest challenger, conservative activist and businessman Mark Lynch, finished second with 29%, while the remaining candidates split the rest of the vote.

Graham’s death sets in motion an unusual process to replace him on the November ballot since he won the GOP nomination.

South Carolina law requires the GOP to hold a new special primary rather than allowing party leaders to choose a replacement. Candidate filing opens the second Tuesday after the vacancy occurs and lasts one week. The special primary is held 11 weeks later, with a runoff two weeks after that if no candidate wins a majority. The winner becomes the Republican nominee for the general election.

The midterm elections are 16 weeks away.

👋🏾 Hi, hey, hello! Welcome to Congress Nerd Flash, a special edition of Once Upon a Hill’s reported evening briefing. I hope you’re having a great weekend so far.

One of Congress’s biggest bipartisan legislative achievements of President Donald Trump’s second term became law on Saturday at midnight—without his signature.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act took effect automatically after Trump publicly declined to sign the measure on Friday, saying he was withholding his approval to pressure the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act. (He also renewed his call for Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster if necessary to advance the election legislation.) Rather than veto the legislation, the president allowed it to become law.

Congressional leaders from both parties were confident that they had the votes to override a veto if the president rejected the measure. The bill passed the House with 358 votes, or roughly 92% of members voting, and cleared the Senate 85–5, a margin of about 94%. (A two-thirds majority in both chambers is required to override a veto.)

Democrats seized on the combination of Trump’s inaction on a key affordability measure and his obsession with what they view as a voter suppression bill to press their case that Trump is principally interested in clinging to power instead of easing the kitchen-table stress working families say they’re facing.

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“Republicans would rather make it harder for you to vote than easier to afford a home,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) posted on X in response to Trump’s announcement. “When people show you who they are, believe them.”

Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass,) argued in a statement that Trump refused to sign the bill because there was nothing in it for him personally.

“No gold-encrusted ballroom, no Qatari jet, no $2 billion crypto deal. Nothing in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing except ways to make housing more affordable,” Warren said. “Donald Trump couldn’t pick up the pen because he just isn’t interested in lowering costs on American families.”

House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) called the bill a victory for Congress and for the American people, whose resilience she credited despite what she views as Trump’s abandonment of his core campaign promise to lower the high cost of living.

“Trump may have dismissed the bill as a ‘big yawn’but the millions of Americans struggling with high housing costs couldn’t disagree more,” Waters said. “When Americans demanded housing relief, let the record be clear: Congress responded to their calls while Trump refused to act.”

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Politically, Trump’s decision risks undercutting one of the few bipartisan accomplishments Republicans had hoped to campaign on this fall. In conversations over the past several weeks, Republican lawmakers and aides repeatedly pointed to the housing package as a tangible answer to voters’ concerns about affordability and a chance to shift attention from the politically divisive One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Instead, a measure GOP leaders envisioned as a midterm messaging asset has become another flashpoint in Trump’s effort to pressure Senate Republicans on an unrelated priority.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act combines dozens of housing and banking provisions aimed at increasing housing supply, lowering costs and expanding homeownership. The bipartisan package also includes new restrictions designed to limit institutional investors from outcompeting families for single-family homes. Trump had been scheduled to sign the bill during a Capitol ceremony days after House passage before abruptly canceling the event about 90 minutes beforehand to pressure the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act instead.