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<\/p>\n\n US Sen. Lindsey Graham, the longtime Republican from South Carolina and ally of President Donald Trump, has died \u201cfrom a brief and sudden illness,\u201d a spokesperson for his office told CNN.\n <\/p>\n
\n Graham served in the US Senate for over two decades, making a name for himself as a foreign policy hawk who advocated for military intervention in Iran and Iraq and was a leading voice for the unwavering US support for Israel and Ukraine. His political career was intrinsically connected to his close relationship to two giants in the Republican Party: first with the late-Sen. John McCain of Arizona and then with Trump, whom he was initially critical of before becoming one of his most outspoken advisers.\n <\/p>\n
\n Dispatch audio obtained and reviewed by CNN reveals emergency crews responded to a \u201ccardiac arrest\u201d at Graham\u2019s residence Saturday evening.\n <\/p>\n
\n He died shortly after returning from a visit to Ukraine \u2013 one of many he made after the Russian invasion in 2022.\n <\/p>\n
\n First elected to the US Senate in 2002, Graham was running for a fifth term in this fall\u2019s midterm elections. He turned 71 last week.\n <\/p>\n
\n Graham began his political career in the early 90s after serving as a city and county attorney in South Carolina. He served in the US Air Force as a prosecutor and defense attorney for six years prior to that.\n <\/p>\n
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\n His early life was marked by the deaths of his mother and father within 15 months of each other when he was an undergraduate. Graham helped raise his then 13-year-old sister, Darline, and later adopted her.\n <\/p>\n
\n Graham briefly ran for the Republican nomination for president in 2015. During the 2016 GOP primary Graham was one of Trump\u2019s fiercest Republican objectors, calling him the \u201cmost flawed nominee in the history of the Republican Party,\u201d warning that nominating Trump would doom the party and in the general election refused to vote for him.\n <\/p>\n
\n That changed after a March 2017 meeting with the newly inaugurated Trump, with Graham becoming a vocal ally \u2013 and by Trump\u2019s second term, Graham became one of his most trusted voices in the Senate, calling himself at one point, the president\u2019s \u201cNorth Star.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Graham has served as the chairman of the highly influential Senate Judiciary Committee and the Budget Committee, though he was perhaps most known as a foreign policy hawk.\n <\/p>\n
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\n Trump paid tribute to Graham in post on his Truth Social platform early Sunday.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cSenator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead! He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!!\u201d the president wrote.\n <\/p>\n
\n Graham\u2019s spokesperson did not disclose further details about the senator\u2019s illness.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cSenator Graham\u2019s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,\u201d the spokesperson said.\n <\/p>\n
\n Tributes from lawmakers and international allies who worked closely with the Republican senator began pouring in the hours following the announcement of his death.\n <\/p>\n
\n Senate Majority Leader John Thune praised Graham\u2019s decades of military and public service and his belief in \u201cthe might of America to achieve good in the world.\u201d \u201cHis influence on the federal judiciary, our national defense, and his beloved South Carolina will be felt for generations,\u201d Thune said in a statement.\n <\/p>\n
Legacy of support for Israel and Ukraine<\/p>\n
\n On foreign policy, Graham was an interventionist, with Israel, Iran, Iraq and Ukraine forming the backbone of that reputation.\n <\/p>\n
\n Graham was one of Israel\u2019s staunchest defenders in Congress, championing billions in security aid and making multiple trips to the region after October 7, with Netanyahu repeatedly calling him the country\u2019s best friend in Washington.\n <\/p>\n
\n Israeli leaders were among the first foreign officials to praise Graham\u2019s legacy, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that Israel had lost \u201cone of its greatest friends.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cLindsey understood that the security of Israel and America are inseparable,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n