US senator and Trump ally Lindsey Graham dies after sudden illness

US Senator Lindsey Graham, a pivotal Republican who went from a vocal critic of Donald Trump to one of his most loyal allies on Capitol Hill after Trump became president, has died at the age of 71.

The South Carolina lawmaker died after a “brief and ‌sudden illness”, his office posted on social media early on Sunday. NBC News said emergency personnel had responded to a call for cardiac arrest at his Capitol Hill home on Saturday night.

Shortly after his death was announced, Trump called Graham “one of the greatest people and senators I have known” and a hard-working patriot.

“Lindsey will be ⁠greatly missed!!!,” Trump said ⁠in a social media post.

During the 2016 campaign, during which Graham was among many Republicans who lost the presidential nomination to Trump, he posted on social media: “If we nominate Trump, we will ⁠get destroyed … and we will deserve it.”

Later, after becoming a staunch supporter, Graham publicly disagreed with Trump’s early ‌2025 decision to pardon about 1,500 of the president’s supporters who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, saying it could lead to more violence.