Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel discusses the unexpected death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Tributes poured in Sunday from President Donald Trump, congressional leaders and foreign allies after Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., died at 71 following what his office described as a "brief and sudden illness," bringing to an end the career of one of the Senate's most influential Republican voices.
The South Carolina Republican had served in the Senate since 2003 and became one of the GOP's leading voices on national security and foreign policy. Once a sharp critic of Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, Graham later emerged as one of the president's closest allies while maintaining a prominent role on issues ranging from judicial confirmations to Ukraine, Israel and Iran.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Graham "was always working," and called the Palmetto State senator "a true American Patriot."
U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speak to the media aboard Air Force One enroute to Washington, DC on January 04, 2026. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster called Graham "irreplaceable" and the "fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America." Per South Carolina law, McMaster will appoint a temporary replacement for Graham, who was seeking a fifth term in November.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said his "heart is heavy" following Graham's death, calling him a trusted adviser whose influence "on the federal judiciary, our national defense, and his beloved South Carolina will be felt for generations."
Thune praised Graham as a tireless advocate for the United States and its allies, saying he believed in "the might of America to achieve good in the world" and spent his career advancing that cause.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune
