{"id":3208,"date":"2026-07-13T14:04:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T14:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208"},"modified":"2026-07-13T14:04:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T14:04:42","slug":"lindsey-graham-influential-gop-senator-and-trump-confidant-dies-at-age-71","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208","title":{"rendered":"Lindsey Graham, influential GOP senator and Trump confidant, dies at age 71"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies in Congress and a longtime advocate of direct confrontation with Iran, died Saturday evening after a \u201cbrief and sudden illness,\u201d his office said in statement posted on social media.<\/p>\n

Read more Five people hurt in serious crash along 51st Avenue near Loop 202<\/a><\/p>\n

The office did not provide any additional details about the South Carolina Republican, who was 71 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cSenator Graham\u2019s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

Graham was close with Trump<\/b><\/p>\n

Graham was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002 and was running for a fifth term. He briefly ran for president in 2016 and clashed with Trump, criticizing him as \u201cunfit for office.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, he later emerged as one of Trump’s top allies, speaking with him frequently and becoming a regular presence on the golf course alongside the president.<\/p>\n

Graham especially advised the president on foreign policy matters such as Iran and Russia, and had just announced an agreement on Friday with the Trump administration to move forward on a package of Russia sanctions.<\/p>\n

“Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead! He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW. So sad!” Trump wrote on Truth Social early Sunday. He then ordered flags be flown at half mast until Saturday evening to “honor the remarkable life and achievements” of Graham.<\/p>\n

Graham had been in Ukraine to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who acknowledged the senator\u2019s 10th visit to the country and thanked him for \u201crecognizing our warriors.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a member of the U.S. House in the 1990s, Graham backed policies aimed at isolating Iran and limiting its missile and nuclear programs.<\/p>\n

Read more Sen. Lindsey Graham\u2019s death leaves a void in the Senate. Here\u2019s what happens next<\/a><\/p>\n

He also cheered on Trump\u2019s decision to strike nuclear sites last year and had been a supporter of the latest conflict that started a few months ago.<\/p>\n

The Republican had a prominent career on Capitol Hill<\/b><\/p>\n

Graham had been serving as the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, giving him a central role during Trump\u2019s second term as Republicans pushed major legislation on party-line votes with a slim majority in the chamber.<\/p>\n

His committee oversaw a process called reconciliation, a Senate procedure that allowed Republicans to pass significant policies such as last year\u2019s tax law without the threat of a Democratic filibuster.<\/p>\n

He had previously led the Senate Judiciary Committee when Republicans confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court in 2020, and was in line to regain that gavel if the party kept control of the Senate after this year\u2019s midterms.<\/p>\n

Little explanation from Graham’s office<\/b><\/p>\n

The sparse statement by Graham’s office, which did not explain his death, comes during a stretch of concern about a lack of transparency about lawmakers\u2019 health.<\/p>\n

Rep. Tom Kean Jr, a New Jersey Republican, was absent without explanation for months before returning to Congress and disclosing that he had been diagnosed with depression.<\/p>\n

Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, was hospitalized weeks ago for undisclosed health reasons.<\/p>\n

Read more Fair quote or ripoff? How to get the best price on a big job<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime Trump ally and influential Republican voice on foreign policy, died Saturday at 71 after a sudden illness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nLindsey Graham, influential GOP senator and Trump confidant, dies at age 71 - Arizona Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lindsey Graham, influential GOP senator and Trump confidant, dies at age 71 - Arizona Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime Trump ally and influential Republican voice on foreign policy, died Saturday at 71 after a sudden illness.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arizona Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-13T14:04:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=3208#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=3208\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9c272b4cf18e019eb01eb3c1b5d855fb\"},\"headline\":\"Lindsey Graham, influential GOP senator and Trump confidant, dies at age 71\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-13T14:04:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=3208\"},\"wordCount\":576,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=3208#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/83906392dfd8f0fd7280257b877277e8.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"National Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=3208#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=3208\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=3208\",\"name\":\"Lindsey Graham, influential GOP senator and Trump confidant, dies at age 71 - Arizona Moving Insider\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=3208#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=3208#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/83906392dfd8f0fd7280257b877277e8.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-13T14:04:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9c272b4cf18e019eb01eb3c1b5d855fb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=3208#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=3208\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=3208#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/83906392dfd8f0fd7280257b877277e8.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/83906392dfd8f0fd7280257b877277e8.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682,\"caption\":\"FILE - U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. answer media questions near damaged Russian vehicles exhibition in central Kyiv, on July 10, 2026. (AP Photo\\\/Efrem Lukatsky, File)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=3208#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lindsey Graham, influential GOP senator and Trump confidant, dies at age 71\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arizona Moving Insider\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9c272b4cf18e019eb01eb3c1b5d855fb\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lindsey Graham, influential GOP senator and Trump confidant, dies at age 71 - Arizona Moving Insider","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lindsey Graham, influential GOP senator and Trump confidant, dies at age 71 - Arizona Moving Insider","og_description":"Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime Trump ally and influential Republican voice on foreign policy, died Saturday at 71 after a sudden illness.","og_url":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208","og_site_name":"Arizona Moving Insider","article_published_time":"2026-07-13T14:04:42+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9c272b4cf18e019eb01eb3c1b5d855fb"},"headline":"Lindsey Graham, influential GOP senator and Trump confidant, dies at age 71","datePublished":"2026-07-13T14:04:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208"},"wordCount":576,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/83906392dfd8f0fd7280257b877277e8.jpg","articleSection":["National Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208","url":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208","name":"Lindsey Graham, influential GOP senator and Trump confidant, dies at age 71 - Arizona Moving Insider","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/83906392dfd8f0fd7280257b877277e8.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-13T14:04:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9c272b4cf18e019eb01eb3c1b5d855fb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/83906392dfd8f0fd7280257b877277e8.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/83906392dfd8f0fd7280257b877277e8.jpg","width":1024,"height":682,"caption":"FILE - U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. answer media questions near damaged Russian vehicles exhibition in central Kyiv, on July 10, 2026. (AP Photo\/Efrem Lukatsky, File)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=3208#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lindsey Graham, influential GOP senator and Trump confidant, dies at age 71"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/","name":"Arizona Moving Insider","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9c272b4cf18e019eb01eb3c1b5d855fb","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com"],"url":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3208\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}