Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has died at the age of 71 after what his office called a “brief and sudden illness.” For decades, Graham had been one of the most vocal supporters of war in Washington. Graham died just after returning from a visit to Ukraine, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. During the trip, Graham pushed for increased U.S. military support for Ukraine.

Sen. Lindsey Graham: “We have a magic moment in time here. In the coming months, if we do this right, increase Ukraine’s lethality, get people to help us with Putin, rather than propping him up, we can end this war.”

Lindsey Graham was a leading backer of the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran, as well as a vocal supporter of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. He also pushed for a permanent occupation of Afghanistan and once called for a preemptive attack on North Korea. After Israel was accused of committing genocide in Gaza, Graham told the head of the International Criminal Court, “this court is for Africa and thugs like Putin. It is not for democracies like Israel and the United States.” 

Graham became a close ally of President Trump, but during his unsuccessful, failed presidential run in 2016, Graham had this to say about Trump.

Sen. Lindsey Graham: “He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. He doesn’t represent my party. He doesn’t represent the values that the men and women who wear the uniform are fighting for. … And you know how you make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell.”

South Carolina’s Republican governor will now pick a replacement to serve out the rest of Senator Graham’s term, which ends in January. Republicans will hold a special primary in August to pick a candidate to run in November.