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South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham died over the weekend from heart complications, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are returning to Capitol Hill Monday to mourn his passing and vow to pass legislation in his honor.
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Graham’s office told reporters Sunday that a preliminary report from the medical examiner found he likely died from an aortic dissection — a tear in the wall of the main artery connected to his heart. Graham was 71.
His medical emergency occurred just days after a conversation he had with President Donald Trump, who mourned his ally in a telephone interview Sunday.
“It’s devastating,” Trump said. “I thought he was fine. He called me last night. He just got back from Ukraine and he had a great trip. He was telling me about the trip. He was pushing very, very hard — you probably know he wanted to do the Save America Act and he was talking about that. He was full of vim and vigor. He said ‘I’m tired’ because it’s a long trip. But other than that, he was fine.”
Graham, who was first elected to Congress in the 1990s and later elected to the Senate in 2002, is being remembered globally. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that Graham is “a great friend of Israel and a cherished friend of mine. We have no better friend than Lindsey.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also mourned his passing, saying in a statement that Graham “was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer.”
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Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is calling on the Senate to pass a Russian sanction bill in Graham’s honor.
“There can be no more fitting memorial to Lindsey, his legacy, or the causes he fought for, than to pass this legislation,” Shaheen said.
South Carolina law states that Gov. Henry McMaster will soon have to name a replacement to fill Graham’s term. Trump suggested Sunday that he already had a person in mind.
Graham was a central figure on Capitol Hill on issues ranging from Ukraine and Israel to the judiciary. He also served as a conduit between Trump and Senate leadership.
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