US Senator Lindsey Graham died late on Saturday amid a flurry of official commitments — sending shockwaves through Congress as politicians mourned and mulled his replacement. President Donald Trump has since ruled out the possibility of foul play, while preliminary findings from the medical examiner suggest the cause of death was an “aortic dissection”. The 71-year-old Republican, a one-time vocal critic of Trump, had been one of the president’s staunchest allies over the past few years.

Preliminary findings cited by his office indicate Graham died after suffering a tear in the inner wall of his aorta. An aortic dissection is a tear in ⁠the main artery that carries blood from the heart. The rupture was linked to the hardening of Graham’s arteries — medically known as arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Officials said a formal cause of death will be disclosed after toxicological and microscopic testing. 

Trump spoke to Graham ‘minutes’ earlier

Trump told Reuters that he had spoken to the late Senator “minutes” before the South Carolina Republican was taken ill and ruled out any foul play. The POTUS added that Graham was “like a member of the family” and dubbed it a “very tough” situation. 

“There are these rumors. But, no, I believe he had a very short-term illness. He had a heart attack.He was a friend of mine, a great friend of mine, and it’s very devastating losing him,” Trump added.

The Senator had turned 71 years old just two days before dying on Saturday night. He met with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine a day before his passing and later released a statement outlining plans to revive the Russian sanctions bill. Graham had also been scheduled for a television appearance on Sunday. Trump told NBC that the late Senator had called him on Saturday night after returning from Kyiv and “sounded a little bit tired, but perfect”.  

A former Trump critic

Graham had been among the many Republicans who lost the 2016 presidential nomination to Donald Trump. Mere months earlier he had told CNN that the future President was “a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot”.

“If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed … and we will deserve it,” he posted on social media during the 2016 presidential campaign.

His stance on Trump changed drastically over the ensuing years — with Graham becoming a staunchly loyal supporter and frequent golf partner. He had still publicly disagreed with the POTUS’ decision to pardon about 1,500 ‌supporters who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 soon after returning to office last year. The late Senator warned that it could lead to more violence.

“They did not always agree, but … they figured out how to have a friendship,” Republican Senator Tim Scott, Graham’s colleague from South Carolina, told “Meet the Press.”