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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Ankita Rao in Washington and Edward Helmore

‘The fiercest of fighters’: Lindsey Graham remembered by politicians and foreign leaders after sudden death

man in suit speaks into microphone
Senator Lindsey Graham’s death on Saturday was described by his office as the result of a ‘brief and sudden illness’. Photograph: Michael Brochstein/Sopa Images/Shutterstock

Washington woke up to the unexpected death of the Republican senator Lindsey Graham, 71, who changed the course of modern history with his hawkish Iran platform and key role in establishing the stridently conservative US supreme court.

Donald Trump was one of the first to pay tribute to the controversial South Carolina lawmaker, a close ally despite past differences, in a social media post. “Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead!” the president wrote on his Truth Social platform. “He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW. So sad!”

Trump later told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that one of Graham’s legacies as a legislator was helping to confirm the US supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.

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