Lindsey Graham, pivotal US senator, dies at 71 

July 12: US Senator Lindsey Graham, a key Republican who went from a vocal critic of Donald Trump to one of his most loyal allies on Capitol Hill after Trump became president, has died at age 71.

The South Carolina lawmaker died after a "brief and sudden illness," his office posted on X early on Sunday. NBC News said emergency personnel had responded to a call for cardiac arrest at his Capitol Hill home on Saturday night.

Shortly after his death was announced, Trump called Graham "one of the greatest people and senators I have known" and a hard-working patriot.

During the 2016 campaign, during which Graham was among many Republicans who lost the presidential nomination to Trump, he posted on social media: "If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed ... and we will deserve it."�" REUTERS