Sen. Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, Dies at 71

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) has passed away following a brief and sudden illness, just days after turning 71. Graham served his state and country for more than three decades — from the halls of Congress to active military deployments overseas. Born in Central, South Carolina, Graham's life was shaped early by tragedy. While in college, both of his parents died within 15 months of each other, leaving him the sole provider for his younger sister. He went on to earn a law degree from the University of South Carolina and serve as a Judge Advocate General in the U.S. Air Force — a career that spanned 33 years and included deployments to both Afghanistan and Iraq. First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994, Graham moved to the Senate in 2002 and quickly became one of Washington's most influential voices. He chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee, shepherding dozens of conservative judges to the federal bench — including Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. He later chaired the powerful Senate Budget Committee. Graham was a member of the bipartisan "Gang of 8," working across the aisle on immigration reform legislation that passed the Senate in 2013. His decades of military and foreign policy experience shaped his work on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and his steadfast support for Israel and Ukraine. Fellow South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott remembered him simply: "South Carolina lost a statesman and I've lost a friend." Washington Correspondent Caitrin Assaf reports. 🔔 Subscribe to WOWT 6 News:    / @wowt6   #LindseyGraham #SouthCarolina #Senate #Obituary #InMemoriam #Congress #USAirForce #Republican #Politics