US Senator Lindsey Graham passes away at 71, family confirms

WASHINGTON: The Republican senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, has breathed his last at the age of 71 after falling victim to an abrupt illness, as per a statement issued by his office early Sunday.

The senator is reported to have succumbed to his illness on Saturday evening. His family has appealed for privacy and expressed gratitude for the well wishes coming their way.

Senator Graham, who has served as South Carolina’s representative in the United States Senate since 2003, served as the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and was campaigning for his fifth six-year term in the upcoming November election.

He is seen as one of the most influential Republicans when it comes to matters of defence and foreign policy.

According to media reports, emergency personnel arrived at Graham’s Capitol Hill residence following an alert that there had been a heart attack. Paramedics took him away from his house in an ambulance, accompanied by both police and firefighters.

Earlier this week, Graham visited Kyiv and had a meeting with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

As a Republican politician who had supported Donald Trump since the beginning of his political career, Graham became one of the president’s most trusted Senate allies despite opposing him at the beginning of the campaign for the presidency in 2016.