US Senator, key Trump ally Lindsey Graham dies at 71
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Washington: US Senator Lindsey Graham, a senior Republican lawmaker from South Carolina and one of President Donald Trump's closest allies in the Senate, died on Saturday evening (local time) following a brief and sudden illness, his office announced on Sunday. He was 71.
In a statement, Graham's office said his family had requested privacy during the difficult time and thanked people for their prayers.
Graham was first elected to the US Senate in 2002 and went on to win re-election in 2008, 2014 and 2020. In the 2008 general election, he became the first candidate in South Carolina's history to receive more than one million votes.
During his Senate career, Graham served as Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and was also a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
He briefly sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2015. During the 2016 Republican primary, Graham was among Donald Trump's strongest critics, describing him as the party's most flawed nominee and initially refusing to support his presidential bid. However, following a meeting with Trump in 2017, the relationship evolved significantly, and Graham went on to become one of the President's most trusted allies during Trump's second term, at one point referring to himself as the President's "North Star."
Born on July 9, 1955, in Central, Pickens County, South Carolina, Graham entered national politics after winning election to the US House of Representatives in 1994. He became the first Republican to represent South Carolina's Third Congressional District since 1877.
Before his congressional career, Graham served in the US Air Force as a military lawyer, completing more than six years of active duty, including an overseas posting at Rhein-Main Air Force Base in Germany between 1984 and 1988.
After leaving active service in 1989, he joined the South Carolina Air National Guard, where he served until 1995. During the Gulf War, he was recalled to active duty as Staff Judge Advocate at McEntire Air National Guard Base, helping prepare personnel for deployment.
Graham later joined the US Air Force Reserve in 1995 and continued serving during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, undertaking multiple short-term assignments while serving in Congress. He retired from the Air Force Reserve in 2015 after 33 years of military service, holding the rank of Colonel.
With IANS inputs