Latest / GNN Daily Breaking News / Pivotal U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham Dies at 71

Transcript

Pivotal U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham Dies at 71 · GNN Daily Breaking News

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: US Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has died at
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: the age of seventy one, his office confirmed late Saturday,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: ending a career that spanned more than three decades and
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: reshaped Republican politics. Graham, a retired Air Force Reserve colonel
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: and military lawyer, was first elected to the House of
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Representatives in nineteen ninety four before winning his Senate seat
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: in two thousand and two. He became one of the
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: most influential voices in Washington, known for his hawkish foreign
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: policy views and his evolution from bipartisan deal maker to
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: staunch ally of Donald Trump. Graham's death comes just months
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: after he filed paperwork to run for a fifth Senate
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: term in November twenty twenty six. He had recently traveled
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: to Kiev to meet with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski, reaffirming
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: US support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. His
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: sudden passing leaves Republicans without one of their most experienced
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: strategists and foreign policy leaders at a critical moment in
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: global affairs. Throughout his career, Graham served on key committees,
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: including Appropriations, Judiciary, and Armed Services, and most recently chaired
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: the Senate Budget Committee. He was a central figure in
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: debates over military intervention, judicial appointments, and fiscal policy. His
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: trajectory from outspoken critic of Trump during the twenty sixteen
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: campaign to one of the former president's closest confidants defined
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: his later years in office. Tributes poured in from across
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: the political spectrum. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster called Graham
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: irreplaceable and praised his fierce defense of the state and
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: the nation. Senate colleagues described him as a tireless advocate
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: for the military and a skilled negotiator, even as his
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: partisan shifts drew controversy. Graham never married and lived in Seneca,
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: South Carolina. His death trigger is a political scramble in
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: South Carolina, where Governor McMaster will appoint a temporary successor
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: until a special election can be held. The vacancy adds
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: uncertainty to the balance of power in the Senate just
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: months before the November elections. For supporters and critics alike,
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: Graham's legacy is one of transformation, an embodiment of the
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: Republican parties shift over the past two decades. His passing
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: closes a chapter in American politics leaving questions about who
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: will inherit his influence and how his absence will reshape
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: the Senate in the months ahead.