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President Donald Trump said Sen. Lindsey Graham called him hours before his death to discuss passing the SAVE America Act, while emergency dispatch audio indicated the South Carolina Republican suffered chest pain before cardiac arrest.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Sunday that the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham dealt a “big blow” to the administration’s effort to pass the SAVE America Act, revealing that the South Carolina Republican had called him only hours before his death to discuss advancing the election legislation.
Graham died Saturday evening after what his office described as a “brief and sudden illness.” He had turned 71 on July 9 and had recently returned from a trip to Kyiv, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The FBI is assisting local authorities and has offered additional resources, according to Director Kash Patel. No federal or local agency has publicly alleged foul play, and Graham’s office has not disclosed a final cause of death.
Trump discussed his final conversation with Graham during a Sunday appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” where the senator had been scheduled to make his 64th appearance before his death.
The president told host Kristen Welker that Graham called him early Saturday evening after returning from Ukraine and was focused on securing Senate passage of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility America Act.
“I got a call last night, sometime in the early evening. He said we’re all set for the SAVE America Act,” Trump recalled during the televised interview. “He was pushing the SAVE America Act like crazy. He got back and said he just landed from Ukraine. I said, ‘That’s a long trip to make.’ He sounded a little tired but perfect, but a little bit tired, and had a right to be. He was a worker, he was really a worker. But he sounded great, actually, but he actually said he was tired.”
Trump said Graham remained confident that the legislation could clear the Senate.
“But he wanted to pass the SAVE America Act, and I said, ‘We’re going to get it done, Lindsey, we’re going to get it done, I’ll see you, like soon. We might even meet today,’” Trump said.
The president described Graham’s death as “a big blow to the SAVE America Act, let me tell you.”
Trump said the timing of the call made Graham’s death especially difficult to comprehend.
“What makes it even stranger is that I got a call last night,” Trump said. “He was really becoming strong on the SAVE America Act. I think he was gonna be there very strongly on the filibuster. He was a strong advocate for SAVE America. That’s what he called me about last night.”
Asked what he had said to Graham before the conversation ended, Trump replied, “I would ‘see you soon.’ ‘Come over anytime you want.’ He came into the White House a lot because I liked him. Can’t do that with everybody.”
Trump said a member of Graham’s office called early Sunday to notify him of the senator’s death and that he initially struggled to believe the news.
The SAVE America Act has become one of Trump’s principal election-policy priorities. The measure is intended to strengthen voter eligibility requirements, including proof-of-citizenship provisions, but has stalled in the Senate after passing the House.
Graham’s office announced his death in a statement requesting privacy for his family.
“On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness. Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” the office said.
Emergency dispatch information provided additional details about the response at Graham’s Washington residence on South Capitol Street SE.
Audio of the 911 dispatch call indicated Graham had complained of chest pain before entering cardiac arrest.
The caller was a woman in Baltimore who was not inside Graham’s residence. She reportedly believed the door might be unlocked, but first responders found it secured and forced their way inside.
Engine 7 reported that cardiopulmonary resuscitation was underway. Efforts to revive Graham were unsuccessful, according to the released emergency audio.
Patel said the FBI was supporting the local response but did not characterize the death as suspicious.
“Senator Lindsey Graham was a devoted public servant, a fierce defender of our nation, and a true patriot who dedicated his life to the people of South Carolina and the United States,” Patel said in a statement about the bureau’s assistance.
“Our prayers are with his family, loved ones, colleagues, and all those who knew him during this devastating time,” Patel continued. “The FBI is assisting local authorities and has made every necessary resource available.”
A separate social media report on the death circulated as authorities responded.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also appeared on “Meet the Press” and said he was in a “state of shock” over Graham’s death. Netanyahu called the senator “one of the great champions of the American-Israeli alliance.”
Graham had spent years advocating a confrontational approach toward Russia and supporting expanded American assistance to Ukraine. In March 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, he publicly appealed for someone inside Russia to remove President Vladimir Putin.
“Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military?” Graham wrote at the time. “The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country – and the world – a great service.”
During a subsequent news conference, Graham called on Russians to “rise up and end this reign of terror.”
“I hope he will be taken out, one way or the other. I don’t care how they take him out. I don’t care if we send him to The Hague and try him. I just want him to go,” Graham said.
Following the senator’s death, Russian opposition sociologist Igor Eidman speculated that the Kremlin might have had a motive to target Graham because of his support for Ukraine, his calls for stronger sanctions and his criticism of Putin.
Eidman suggested, without offering evidence, that a slow-acting poison could hypothetically have been administered during Graham’s recent trip to Ukraine through clandestine Russian networks.
The theory remains entirely speculative. No law enforcement agency, intelligence service or government has linked Russia to Graham’s death. No forensic findings, witness accounts, intercepted communications or intelligence assessments supporting the allegation have been released.
Graham had long been criticized by Russian officials, including Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Russian state media frequently portrayed him as one of Moscow’s principal opponents in Washington because of his support for Kyiv and advocacy for stronger sanctions.
That political hostility, however, does not establish any connection to his death.
Graham’s passing also immediately altered South Carolina’s political landscape, creating an open Senate seat only months before the November election.
Rep. Nancy Mace is “strongly” considering entering the race, according to two sources cited in a New York Post report.
Mace finished fifth in South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial primary last month and is scheduled to leave the House in January. Trump did not endorse her gubernatorial bid and instead supported Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette.
On Sunday, Mace shared a “Sopranos” gif stating, “Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in,” in a post that intensified speculation.
Mace previously challenged Graham in the 2014 Republican Senate primary and finished fifth. She later served in the South Carolina House before winning election to Congress in 2020 to represent the state’s 1st District.
Graham had secured the Republican nomination for another Senate term in June and was favored to win reelection in November.
Under South Carolina law, Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to appoint a temporary successor. A special election will then determine who completes the remainder of Graham’s term, with reports indicating that the process will include an Aug. 11 primary.
Rep. Joe Wilson and other South Carolina Republicans have also been mentioned as potential candidates.
Graham’s death therefore leaves simultaneous uncertainty over the Senate vacancy, the future of the SAVE America Act and the loss of one of Trump’s most active congressional allies on foreign policy and election legislation.
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