Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sudden death sent a jolt through Washington, and preliminary medical findings released Sunday pointed to a catastrophic heart-related condition as Republicans confronted the loss of one of President Donald Trump’s most important Senate allies.
The District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner found that Graham suffered an aortic dissection tied to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease before his death, though officials stressed the review is not complete.
“The preliminary examination findings were: Aortic Dissection due to Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease,” the medical examiner’s office announced.
A final death certificate will have to wait until toxicological and microscopic testing is finished, the office said.
Graham, 71, died Saturday night after a decades-long political career that stretched from the House of Representatives to the center of some of the Senate’s most explosive fights.
CNN’s Jake Tapper: “[Lindsey Graham] had some harsh words about you 10 years ago, when you were running against each other.”
President Trump: “Well, he ran against me, and he was, you know, formidable. He was a tough cookie. He was tough and smart. And that's where I got to… pic.twitter.com/sldZGgjlvQ
— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) July 12, 2026
The South Carolina Republican was first elected to the Senate in 2002 after four House terms and later became a major force on foreign policy, national security and the federal courts.
The news landed just as another Republican power center remained sidelined.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., used a Sunday evening letter to explain his nearly month-long absence from the Senate, attributing a fall at home to complications from the polio he survived as a child.
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McConnell wrote that he was “briefly unconscious” after the fall and later developed a “mild case of pneumonia” during recovery.
“My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion,” McConnell stated. “I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages.”
His timetable for returning to Senate votes was still unsettled. “As much as it frustrates me, this process takes time. And on the advice of my doctors, I won’t be able to return to the Senate floor to vote quite yet,” McConnell noted.
Statement From Senator Mitch McConnell
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released the following note to constituents regarding his hospitalization and recovery:
“To my fellow Kentuckians –
“When you elected me to a seventh term and made me our… pic.twitter.com/kfx2GKqd38
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 12, 2026
“But rest assured that, in the meantime, I’m not taking a break from the Senate business that matters to you.”
McConnell’s attending physician said the senator has “experienced several falls throughout the year that have been attributed to his post-polio condition.”
The doctor said McConnell had been admitted four weeks earlier with minor injuries after falling at home.
A multidisciplinary team found no fractures, cardiac abnormalities, stroke, tumor or hemorrhage, and the pneumonia he developed early in the hospital stay responded quickly to antibiotics.
Together, Graham’s death and McConnell’s absence leave the Senate missing two critical Republican votes as Trump’s party tries to drive key pieces of the president’s agenda by the beginning of August.
Trump’s own remembrance of Graham reached back to the 2018 confirmation battle over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a moment the president described Sunday as the late senator’s defining performance.
“I think his finest moment was his defense of Brett Kavanaugh, who’s a terrific guy,” Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Trump recalled Kavanaugh being “treated very, very unfairly by the Democrats” during a hearing that featured Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers. Kavanaugh denied the allegation.
Graham used his time at that hearing to unload on Senate Democrats and defend Trump’s nominee.
“What you want to do is destroy this guy’s life, hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020. You’ve said that, not me. You’ve got nothing to apologize for,” Graham stated.
He also invoked Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, both of whom he had supported.
“When you see Sotomayor and Kagan, tell them that Lindsey said hello because I voted for them,” Graham continued.
“I would never do to them what you’ve done to this guy. This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics. And if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn’t have done what you’ve done to this guy.”
Trump credited the exchange with changing the trajectory of the nomination fight.
“It was an incredible display, and he did it from the heart. He felt strongly about Brett, and he did it from the heart, and it turned that whole thing around. He was really amazing,” Trump said during his “State of the Union” interview.
Trump said that moment was one of the Senate’s best and said it deserved to be replayed.
“I think it was a top 10, maybe a top five moment in the history of the Senate,” he said. “That was a — that was one they should replay.”
Kavanaugh was confirmed on Oct. 6, 2018, in a 50-48 vote and remains an associate justice.
Trump also remembered Graham as a senator who could help him navigate Democrats when other Republicans were unable to.
Trump on Lindsey Graham's death: "This is a big blow to the SAVE America Act, let me tell you" pic.twitter.com/1b2Gnaa7R5
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 12, 2026
“There was no better advocate. He was a fantastic advocate in the Senate, and he could do things that other people, he was, he was able to. If I had a really big problem with a certain Democrat, he could work it out, you know. That’s something most Republicans can’t do,” Trump noted.
In a different interview, the president told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Graham had called him Saturday night after returning from Ukraine, making what may have been one of the senator’s last calls.
“It could have been his last call. I don’t know exactly, but I got a message about one o’clock in the morning from one of the people at his office that he had passed away. I just can’t believe it,” Trump lamented.
Graham had been pushing the SAVE America Act, according to Trump, who said the senator sounded tired from the trip but otherwise well.
“He called, and he said, ‘We’re all set for the SAVE America Act.’ He was pushing the SAVE America Act like crazy. He got back, said he just landed from Ukraine. I said, ‘That’s a long trip to make.’ He said he sounded a little tired, but perfect, but a little bit tired,” Trump revealed.
“This is a big blow to the SAVE America Act, let me tell you,” Trump pointed out.
Host Kristen Welker asked what candidate he thinks South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster should appoint temporarily, and Trump said he had someone in mind but would not name that person while Graham’s death was so fresh.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is reportedly considering a run to replace Graham. On Sunday morning, she posted a clip from “The Godfather Part III” and quoted the film.
“Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in…” pic.twitter.com/1AzRMPAEuc
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) July 12, 2026
“Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in…” she wrote.
Mace, who came in fifth in last month’s Republican primary for South Carolina governor with about 12 percent of the vote, also praised Graham’s service in a separate statement.
“We did not always agree, but no one ever questioned his love for South Carolina or the fight he brought to every room he walked into,” Mace said.
