Preliminary Report Reveals Cause Of Death For Sen. Lindsey Graham

Sen. Lindsey Graham, nan salient Republican from South Carolina who served successful nan Senate for much than 2 decades, died aft suffering an aortic dissection, his agency said Sunday.

Graham died unexpectedly Saturday night, his agency announced, soon aft he had returned to Washington aft a travel to Ukraine.

In a statement, his spokesperson said a preliminary study from nan aesculapian examiner for nan District of Columbia recovered that nan 71-year-old legislator died of aortic dissection owed to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. With aortic dissection, a tear occurs successful nan wall of nan aorta.

According to the Mayo Clinic, aortic dissection is not very common, and its symptoms whitethorn beryllium mistakenly attributed to different wellness conditions. It usually affects men successful their 60s and 70s. If nan humor from nan dissection travels extracurricular nan artery, nan information is often fatal.

A erstwhile subject lawyer who reached nan rank of colonel successful nan Air Force, Graham ran for nan Republican information for president successful 2016. Initially a cutting, vocal professional of then-candidate Donald Trump during nan election, Graham became 1 of nan president’s staunchest friends aft Trump’s election.

“Senator Lindsey Graham, 1 of nan top group and Senators I person ever known, is dead!” Trump posted connected his societal media platform, Truth, connected Sunday. “He was ever working, and was a existent American Patriot.”

Graham was known arsenic a C student successful precocious school, and was nan first personnel of his family to be college. His mother died while he attended nan University of South Carolina, and his begetter died of a bosom onslaught during Graham’s first semester of rule school.

He served arsenic a judge advocator successful nan Air Force, yet becoming nan main charismatic for nan Air Force successful Europe.

He was first elected to service arsenic legislator for South Carolina successful November 2002.

In a societal media station connected X, Vice President JD Vance described Graham arsenic 1 of nan astir powerful lawmakers, and recalled an incident wherever he and Graham sewage into a shouting lucifer complete a backing measure for nan warfare successful Ukraine.

Later nan aforesaid day, he wrote successful nan post, Graham was advocating for obstruction authorities that Vance supported.

“That was Lindsey Graham,” he wrote. “He fought for illustration hellhole for nan things he believed in, and he was conscionable arsenic consenting to spell to bat for you erstwhile it counted.”

Graham had been scheduled to look connected NBC’s “Meet nan Press” connected Sunday to talk his travel to Ukraine. Instead, President Trump appeared successful his stead, wherever he said nan legislator had been “like a personnel of nan family.”

Trump called into respective Sunday news programs to talk Graham’s death, and said he had spoken to Graham connected Saturday evening.

Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper that nan South Carolina legislator had said he was “tired.”