US Senator Lindsey Graham died of an “aortic dissection” caused by cardiovascular disease, according to a preliminary finding by the Washington DC medical examiner.
An aortic dissection is a tear in the main artery that carries blood to the body.
Graham, a close Republican ally of President Donald Trump, died at the age of 71 on Saturday evening.
Elected to the Senate in 2002, the South Carolina politician was one of Washington’s most influential voices on foreign policy, often pushing for US military intervention overseas.
Trump pushes for Lindsey Graham’s sister as replacement after senator’s death from aortic tear
Graham’s spokesperson said the death certificate would be pending until “all the toxicological and microscopic testing” was finalised.
The senator had just returned from a trip to Kyiv, Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday.
Zelensky said he was “deeply saddened” by Graham’s death, writing on X: “Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer.”
