Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., reportedly declined advice to seek immediate medical attention in the hours before his death on Saturday, telling confidants he wanted to continue working on several major foreign policy priorities and joking that he “can’t die now.”
According to an account by Axios reporter Barak Ravid, Graham acknowledged that he was feeling unwell after a series of high-level foreign policy calls but chose to postpone medical treatment until the following morning.
The South Carolina Republican reportedly told a confidant that he planned to wait until Sunday before seeking care despite concerns about his condition.
Ravid reported that Graham had spent the final weeks of his life focused on a renewed diplomatic effort aimed at advancing normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel. According to the report, the senator viewed that initiative as a key objective and had been laying the groundwork for another push to revive negotiations.
On Saturday evening, Graham spoke by phone with President Donald Trump, according to Ravid. During the conversation, the senator briefed the president on his recent trip to Ukraine and encouraged action on a Russia sanctions bill that was awaiting a vote in the Senate.
Ravid also reported that Trump informed Graham during the call that he was preparing new military strikes against Iran following another attack on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Shortly after the conversation, Graham reportedly told another person that he was not feeling well.
According to Axios, that individual urged the senator to seek immediate medical attention. Graham declined, reportedly saying that he would instead wait until after his scheduled appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press the following morning.
Ravid reported that Graham responded with a joke reflecting the work he still hoped to accomplish.
“I can’t die now. I still need to do the Russia sanctions, get Iran sorted out and do Israeli-Saudi normalization,” Graham reportedly said, according to Axios.
Several hours later, Graham died from what was identified as “an aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.”
According to Ravid’s reporting, Graham believed that normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel represented a central component of a broader postwar settlement in the Middle East following the conflict involving Iran.
The senator reportedly believed that weakening Iranian influence had created a rare opportunity for Trump to help broker a historic diplomatic agreement between the two nations.
Ravid reported that Graham had discussed those efforts directly with Trump as well as senior advisers Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.
In addition to his conversations in Washington, Graham had also been in contact with Israeli and Saudi officials as part of the diplomatic effort, according to the report.
Ravid wrote that the senator had been planning to travel to both Israel and Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks to assess support for restarting negotiations and advancing the normalization effort.
The reported conversations and travel plans underscored Graham’s continued focus on foreign policy initiatives in the days leading up to his death. According to Ravid’s account, the senator remained actively engaged in discussions involving Ukraine, Russia, Iran and the Middle East even as he acknowledged that he was not feeling well.
His reported decision to delay medical treatment came just hours before his sudden death, ending the longtime senator’s work on the international initiatives that he reportedly believed still required his attention.
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