Lindsey Graham 1955-2026

Lindsey Graham's sister takes his place in the Senate

Lindsey Graham's sister, Darline Graham Nordone, is taking her brother's place as senator for South Carolina for the rest of the year. CNBC reports.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster made the decision hours after Donald Trump posted a post on his own Truth Social platform urging McMaster to let Darline Graham Nordone replace his brother.

"It would be a wonderful tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!" he wrote.

Lindsey Graham died on Saturday. Darline Graham Nordone is expected to take office as interim senator on Wednesday, according to sources to Fox News.

Analysis: The question is what awaits in Washington now

US Senator Lindsey Graham was a political survivor and a telling pulse of the dramatically changing climate within the Republican Party - and the entire United States - under Donald Trump's rule. This is what the BBC's Anthony Zurcher writes after the senator's death this weekend.

During his short-lived presidential campaign in 2015, he was a fierce opponent of Trump - only to turn his back on him after election night in 2016, writes Zurcher. Four years later, when Trump lost to Joe Biden, Graham decided that he was done with the real estate magnate. But both Trump's time in the cold - and Graham's distancing - were short-lived and the senator quickly rallied behind Trump again, writes Zurcher. Until his death, he was one of the president's most loyal allies.

Lindsey Graham has had one of the most significant political careers in the United States in the early 2000s, writes CNN's Stephen Collinson. He shares that with one of his main opponents, the Democrats' Nancy Pelosi, who is leaving Congress this year.

The generation that has long dominated politics in Washington is now starting to leave the stage, writes Collinson. The biggest question is what and who will fill the void in their wake.

Lindsey Graham died this weekend. He was 71 years old.