Washington, July 13: Sen Lindsey Graham, one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies in Congress who traveled the globe to advocate for a more aggressive US foreign policy, died after a rupture in his aorta, according to a preliminary medical examiner’s finding shared by his office.
The rupture was related to the hardening of Graham’s arteries. An official cause of death will be disclosed after toxicological and microscopic testing.
Graham, a prominent South Carolina Republican and former Air Force lawyer who served in Congress for more than three decades, had turned 71 years old just two days before dying on Saturday night.
His office had originally said he had suffered from a “brief and sudden illness.” Trump, who talked to Graham frequently, said he was “like a member of the family. It’s very tough.”
He said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Graham had called him on Saturday night after returning from a trip to Ukraine and “sounded a little bit tired, but perfect.”
The president ordered that flags across the country be flown at half-staff until next Saturday evening. (AP)
