U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham — South Carolina’s senior senator who in his decades-long tenure rose to the highest levels of influence on the global stage — died the evening of July 11 in Washington, D.C., after what his office described as a “brief and sudden illness” that the D.C. medical examiner in its preliminary review later ruled to be a torn aorta.
An aortic dissection is a tear in the body’s main artery. The examiner attributed the dissection to underlying cardiovascular disease, though the official cause and manner of death remain pending while toxicology and microscopic testing are completed.
Graham’s death comes as he was seeking reelection to a fifth term this year and also just days after reaching his latest birthday on July 9. He turned 71.
“On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness,” his office said in a news release shortly before 2 a.m. July 12. “Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”
The shocking sudden death of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., appears to be from an aortic dissection — a rare condition where the main blood vessel tears and ruptures. It is rare and can be treated surgically. https://t.co/ptyfaGemca
— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) July 13, 2026
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