(FILES) US Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina questions US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine during a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Defense hearing to examine the 2027 budget for the Department of Defense on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on May 12, 2026. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a key ally of US President Donald Trump, died on July 11, 2026, at the age of 71 following "a brief and sudden illness," his office announced on its official X account on July 12. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)