Outstanding US Senator Lindsey Graham, a key ally of President Donald Trump, died on Saturday aged 71 following a “transient and sudden sickness,” his workplace mentioned.
Graham, identified for his overseas coverage work, was a staunch supporter of the US-Israeli battle on Iran and lately urged each Trump and the Biden administrations to again Kyiv’s combat towards Russia’s invasion.
“On the night of Saturday, July 11, US Senator Lindsey Graham handed away from a quick and sudden sickness,” the Republican senator from South Carolina’s workplace mentioned in a press release on his official X account.
“Senator Graham’s household appreciates prayers presently and asks for privateness throughout this extremely tough interval.”
Trump paid tribute to the influential senator on Sunday, calling him “one of many best individuals” in a submit on his Fact Social web site.
“Senator Lindsey Graham, one of many best individuals and Senators I’ve ever identified, is useless! He was at all times working, and was a real American Patriot. Lindsey shall be significantly missed!!!”
Graham made a failed bid for the presidency in 2016, warning on the time that Republicans mustn’t again Trump as a result of he was a “race-baiting, xenophobic, spiritual bigot”.
Their relationship was strained by the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, with Graham saying his Republican colleagues ought to “depend me out, sufficient is sufficient” — though he later voted towards convicting Trump in his impeachment trial.
Graham reconciled their relationship after Trump returned to workplace and supported his re-election bid.
Graham was additionally a robust supporter of Israel and a hawkish backer of the US-Israeli battle on Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned: “Lindsey is a superb pal of Israel and a cherished pal of mine.”
“Lindsey understood that the safety of Israel and America are inseparable. He devoted his life to defending America, strengthening our alliance and standing up for the free world,” Netanyahu mentioned in a press release launched by his workplace.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog mentioned the information left him “shocked and heartbroken.” “Senator Graham was a beacon of ethical readability and a real chief of the US-Israel partnership,” he mentioned in a submit on X.
“We are going to always remember how he stood by the individuals of Israel in our most tough moments, and we’ll stay eternally grateful for his sense of justice, reality, and loyalty,” Herzog mentioned.
Graham was first elected to the US Home of Representatives in 1994, earlier than being elected to the Senate in 2002.
He was later re-elected to the Senate in 2008, 2014 and 2020 and most not too long ago served as chairman of the Senate Funds Committee.
Graham served as a navy lawyer and attained the rank of air pressure colonel, an expertise that knowledgeable his interventionist stance in overseas coverage.
In 2002, he voted in favor of navy motion towards Iraq within the wake of the September 11 assaults, and later supported a long-term US presence in Afghanistan.
Graham was a frequent critic of President Barack Obama’s overseas coverage, calling him a “weak opponent of evil” in 2015 over his negotiation of a nuclear cope with Iran.
