Senator Lindsey Graham, a prominent Republican figure and close ally of former President Donald Trump, died over the weekend from a sudden heart complication, according to his office. His final hours included a distressed call to a staffer, as revealed by Senator Tommy Tuberville on Monday.
Tuberville recounted that Graham's scheduler received a late-night call from the senator who stated, "I'm having chest pains. You know, I need to do something." When asked if he had called 911, Graham reportedly replied, "No, that's the reason I called you." By the time emergency services arrived, they had to force entry into his home and were working on him. Graham was transported to George Washington University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The official cause of death has been identified as aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. His spokesman indicated that a death certificate is pending final toxicological and microscopic testing.
Graham, a senator from South Carolina, had spoken with former President Donald Trump by phone on Saturday night. The conversation reportedly touched on Graham's recent trip to Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and visited a drone facility, and Trump's planned strikes on Iran. Trump, in a Sunday interview, described Graham as "like a member of the family" and mentioned Graham's desire to pass the SAVE America Act, which Graham co-sponsored. "I'm doing good but I'm tired," Trump recalled Graham telling him.
Earlier on Saturday, an unidentified individual who spoke with Graham reported that the senator had complained of feeling unwell. When urged to seek immediate medical attention, Graham stated he would do so on Sunday morning after an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press. He reportedly joked about his own mortality, saying, "I can't die now. I still need to do the Russian sanctions, get Iran sorted out and do Israeli-Saudi normalization."
First responders were dispatched to Graham's home around 8:30 p.m. Saturday following a 911 call reporting a "cardiac arrest." Police scanner audio indicates CPR began approximately 25 minutes after the call.
Graham, who served as a close ally to Trump and a supporter of Ukraine and Israel, had his desk on the Senate floor draped in black cloth and topped with white roses as lawmakers returned to Washington. The White House lowered flags to half-mast in his honor.
His sister, Darline Graham Nordone, has been appointed by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster to fill his seat on an interim basis until the end of his term. A special Republican primary election to select a nominee for the full six-year term is scheduled for August 11. Senator Tim Scott, among others, has expressed support for Nordone's interim appointment.