Lindsey Graham Cause of Death: Emergency Responders Answered Cardiac Arrest Call Before Senator's Death

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has died after what his office described as a “brief and sudden illness,” just hours after emergency responders were dispatched to his Capitol Hill home.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has died after what his office described as a “brief and sudden illness,” just hours after emergency responders were dispatched to his Capitol Hill home following a reported cardiac arrest. The longtime South Carolina lawmaker had recently returned from a visit to Ukraine and was scheduled to appear on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.

US Senator Lindsey Graham passed away on the evening of Saturday, July 11, according to a statement released by his office.

“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 statement said.

Before the announcement of his death, emergency personnel responded to a call for a “cardiac arrest” at Graham’s Capitol Hill home on Saturday night, according to police scanner audio obtained by NBC News. Photographs reviewed by the outlet showed paramedics carrying a person on a stretcher from the residence to a waiting ambulance, while police cars and fire trucks were also at the scene.

Graham had returned from Kyiv, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday. He had also been scheduled to appear on NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday.

First elected to the Senate in 2003, Graham was serving as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and was seeking a fifth six-year Senate term in November. Over more than two decades in the Senate, he became one of the chamber’s best-known Republicans and a leading voice on defense and foreign policy. Graham also ran for president in 2016 before becoming a vocal ally of President Donald Trump. In recent years, he emerged as one of the Senate’s strongest supporters of Israel and Ukraine.

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