Senate Republicans will return to Washington with an uncertain agenda after the sudden death of prominent Republican Lindsey Graham, a committee chairman and key player who served as a crucial ally with President Donald Trump.
Lavaca County justice of the peace arrested on felony sexual assault charge, sheriff’s office saysMariachi no longer in ICE custody after calls for his release, Rep.
Castro saysFILE - Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. , listens during a Capitol Hill news conference in Washington, March 6, 2013. FILE - Sen.
Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. , left, listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a reception for the Clemson Tigers in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Jan. 14, 2019. FILE - Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
, arrives for a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. FILE - Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. , listens during a Capitol Hill news conference in Washington, March 6, 2013.
Graham, 71, died Saturday evening after a tear in his aorta, according to a statement from his office on Sunday. The shocking news came after another prominent Republican senator, former Republican leader Mitch McConnell, has been hospitalized for almost a month. McConnellThe continued absence of McConnell, R-Ky. , and the surprise death of the South Carolina senator have shaken Republicans who were alreadyand stalled on several priorities as they return from a two-week recess.
And the reduced Republican numbers in the 53-47 Senate are sure to add confusion to what was already expected to be a chaotic and difficult few months before the November midterm elections. Despite consolidated power in Washington, Republicans have been unable to get much done as the Senate, House and White House have disagreed on legislative priorities and as Trump has criticized Senate Republicans, in particular, for not passing his“He was a great — like a gauge, a temperature gauge of the Senate,” Trump said of Graham on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday morning, noting he had talked to Graham on Saturday.
“He could go in and get something approved. He would just get people on his side. ”The Senate left town two weeks ago after a rough few weeks for Republicans. Trump blocked the Senate from confirmingthat had the support of large bipartisan majorities in both chambers, arguing that they should pass his bill to require proof of citizenship, the SAVE America Act, instead.
The bill became law on Friday at midnight after he declined to sign it but did not veto it. The alliance between Trump and Senate Republicans has also been weakened after the president endorsed the opponents of two Republican incumbent senators who had been reliable votes, Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy.
Cassidy challenged Trump directly on the Iran war in a Capitol meeting between Trump and Republicans just before they left town that did not go well. They also must find a way to navigate Democratic opposition and Trump’s continued ire to keep the government open and prevent a government shutdown, again. Graham was a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, as is McConnell.
Graham also sat on the Judiciary Committee that will consider Blanche’s nomination and is the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, which has been under pressure from House Republicans and Trump to move a budget package with increased defense spending for Iran.that Graham and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut had announced on Friday after an agreement with the Trump administration.
Blumenthal told The Associated Press on Sunday that Graham was “absolutely focused on this moment” as they announced the sanctions package after months of negotiations. He said he hopes Graham’s memory will inspire the Senate to move forward.
“We’ve really reached this moment where all of the stars are aligned and we will be lacking Lindsey’s spectacular advocacy,” Blumenthal said. Senate leaders have not yet announced how they will honor Graham, who died after a tear in the inner wall of the aorta, called an aortic dissection, related to hardening of Graham’s arteries, according to his office.
An official cause of death will be disclosed after toxicological and microscopic testing, his office said.and former Air Force lawyer who served in Congress for more than three decades, had just returned from a trip to Ukraine. A number of Republican names began circulating as possible replacements to serve out the rest of Graham’s term, including three candidates who fell short for the party’s nomination for governor this year — Rep. Nancy Mace, Rep. Ralph Norman and Lt.
Gov. Pamela Evette. McConnell’s Sunday announcement revealed for the first time that a fall led to his hospitalization, breaking the silence about his condition after weeks of The Kentucky Republican, who is retiring in January, said in a statement that he was “briefly unconscious” around the time he was first taken to the hospital in June and has undergone a battery of tests to try and determine what led to his fall.
He said he was also treated for mild pneumonia and has been moved to a rehabilitation facility.
“My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages,” McConnell said, adding that he is now “regaining my strength. ”McConnell explained the four-week silence about his condition by saying that “folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older.
”Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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