U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Israel’s most prominent supporters in Congress and an influential Republican voice on foreign policy, died Saturday evening following a brief and sudden illness, his office announced Sunday. He was 71.
“Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” his office said in a statement posted on X.
Graham represented South Carolina in the Senate from 2003 and had previously served in the House of Representatives, giving him more than three decades of experience on Capitol Hill. A former military lawyer, he served in the U.S. Air Force and later retired from the Air Force Reserve with the rank of colonel.
Over his long career in Washington, Graham emerged as one of the Republican Party’s most consistent and outspoken supporters of Israel. He viewed Israel’s security as a central American interest and regularly visited the country for meetings with senior political and defense officials.
His foreign policy positions were defined by a strongly hawkish approach, particularly toward Iran’s nuclear program and regional ambitions, which he repeatedly described as threats to Israel and broader Middle East stability.
Graham became a close ally and foreign policy adviser to President Donald Trump, despite initially opposing Trump during the 2016 Republican presidential primary. He supported efforts to strengthen and expand the Abraham Accords and, in recent years, advocated for normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia as part of a wider regional security alliance intended to contain Iran and its proxies.
His support for Israel became especially prominent after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, terrorist attack. Graham visited Israel several times, defended the country’s right to dismantle Hamas and rejected international calls that he believed would prevent Israel from achieving its military objectives in Gaza.
(Photo: GPO)
He also pushed to maintain U.S. military assistance to Israel without additional conditions and repeatedly challenged international criticism of Israel’s conduct during the war.
Graham was born in Central, South Carolina, in 1955. After studying psychology and law at the University of South Carolina, he served as a military attorney in the Air Force before entering politics. He was elected to the House in 1994 and won his Senate seat in 2002.
In the Senate, Graham became an influential member of committees dealing with the judiciary, defense and government spending. Known for his forceful positions on national security, he was a leading advocate of confronting Iran and maintained that the U.S.-Israel alliance was a cornerstone of American strategy in the Middle East.