Republican Senator Lindsey Graham died Saturday at age 71 after a brief illness, his office said. The cause was a rupture of his aorta, according to his spokesman.

Graham was elected to the Senate in 2002 and served South Carolina for 22 years. He shaped foreign policy by advocating military action in multiple regions and strong backing for Israel and Ukraine.

Trump said he spoke with Graham hours before the death and that the senator sounded fine but a little tired. He called Graham a patriot and said he would be missed.

Graham met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday, days before his death, and had no reported health issues before the trip.

Graham's views on Donald Trump changed over time. He criticized Trump in 2015, warned that nominating him would be risky in 2016, and after the 2021 Capitol riot said the relationship had ended. He later voted to acquit Trump in the 2021 impeachment trial and supported Trump's 2024 election bid.

In a 2023 interview, Graham said the United States would take decisive action if Iran did not comply with U.S. control of the Strait of Hormuz, one of his last televised comments.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Graham understood that the security of Israel and America are inseparable and that Israel lost one of its most significant allies.

Graham supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq, opposed the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, and advocated arming Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia. Zelensky posted on X that he was saddened by Graham's death.

Graham faced personal hardship early in life, losing his parents while in university and later adopting his younger sister. He served in the Air Force as a military prosecutor before entering politics.

His death creates a Senate vacancy; South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster can appoint a temporary replacement until the November election, when voters will choose a successor. The Senate currently holds a 53‑47 Republican majority, and another Republican senator remains hospitalized with an undisclosed condition.