Lindsey Graham final phone call revealed as Senator dialed staffer in desperate need of help

By STEPHEN M. LEPORE, US SENIOR REPORTER Published: 06:41, 14 July 2026 | Updated: 06:59, 14 July 2026 Lindsey Graham made a desperate phone call to one of his staffers in his final moments before his sudden death over the weekend, Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville revealed Monday. The longtime senator and close Donald Trump ally unexpectedly passed away on Saturday night due to a 'sudden' heart complication, according to his office. Tuberville, a fellow Republican, told reporters Monday that one of his staffers was with Graham's scheduler Saturday night when the phone call came. While it has been revealed the 71-year old initially shrugged off his health concerns, he admitted to the scheduler that he needed help.  'Lindsey called, called basically, said, ''Listen, I'm having chest pains. You know, I need to do something,'' said Tuberville. The scheduler then asked Graham if he'd called 911. Graham replied: 'No, that's the reason I called you.' 'By the time she got there, 911 had knocked the door down, and they were working on him,' Tuberville added.  Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville (pictured) revealed a phone call Lindsey Graham had with one of his staffers in his final moments before his sudden death over the weekend Tuberville, a fellow Republican, told reporters Monday that one of his staffers was with Graham's (pictured) scheduler Saturday night The longtime Republican from South Carolina spoke with President Donald Trump by telephone on Saturday night, discussing his recent trip to Ukraine, and the President confided in him about his planned strikes on Iran, Axios reports.  Trump told Newsmax Monday night he called and asked how Graham was doing following the trip. 'I'm doing good but I'm tired,' Trump said Graham told him.  In a Sunday morning interview on NBC's Meet the Press, Trump revealed that Graham was 'like a member of the family to him,' and that the two had spoken over the phone on Saturday night. Trump also revealed that Graham called him to discuss the passage of the SAVE America Act, which Graham co-sponsored in the US Senate. 'He actually said he was tired, but he wanted to pass the SAVE America Act, and I said, ‘Well, we’re going to get it done, Lindsey. We’re going to get it done. I’ll see you, like, soon,' Trump noted on Meet the Press. During the July 4 recess break in Washington, DC, this past week, Graham traveled to Ukraine, met with President Volodymyr Zelensky, and even visited a drone facility which was later destroyed by the Russians. An unidentified person who spoke with Graham in the moments hours earlier told the outlet he complained that he was feeling unwell. DC Fire and EMS medical units and EMS supervisors deliver Senator Lindsey Graham to George Washington Hospital Emergency Room The longtime Republican from South Carolina spoke with President Donald Trump by telephone on Saturday night, discussing his recent trip to Ukraine, and the President confided in him about his planned strikes on Iran  Lindsey Graham answered questions from the media near an exhibition of damaged Russian vehicles in central Kyiv just days before he died When the individual urged Graham to seek medical attention immediately, the senator said he would do so on Sunday morning after his scheduled appearance on NBC's Meet the Press. He then joked, 'I can't die now. I still need to do the Russian sanctions, get Iran sorted out and do Israeli-Saudi normalization,' according to the outlet.  But just a few hours after making the quip on Saturday night, the senator was seen lying on a gurney as first responders attempted life-saving measures in pictures obtained by TMZ.  He appeared to be intubated as EMTs pushed the gurney into a nearby ambulance that was headed for George Washington University Hospital. Authorities first received a 911 call about a 'cardiac arrest' at Graham's home at around 8.30pm that night, according to multiple reports. Hordes of first responders were then seen descending on the street outside Graham's house. Just about 25 minutes after the call, first responders had started CPR as the Senator suffered from cardiac arrest, according to police scanner audio obtained by The Washington Post. Then, early Sunday, Graham's office announced he had 'passed away from a brief and sudden illness.'  His cause of death has since been revealed to be 'aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.'  Greg Kelly asks President Trump whether he thinks Russia might have played a role in the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham. pic.twitter.com/IxLNsO2QoL A woman draped in a Ukrainian flag with the state coat of arms writes in the condolences book for late US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) outside his office on Capitol Hill in Washington 'The death certificate will be PENDING until all the toxicological and microscopic testing are finalized, and at that point the death certificate will be updated to reflect the cause of death and appropriately classify the manner of death,' Graham's spokesman added. Director Kash Patel had said his agency was providing all necessary resources for the probe.  Following existing Senate protocol, Graham's desk on the Senate floor was covered in black cloth and topped with a vase of white roses as lawmakers returned to Washington after a two-week recess.  Graham was one of Trump's closest allies in the US Senate, consistently voting to enact the President's agenda.  The White House has lowered the flags to half-mast in his honor. The senator was also a staunch supporter of Ukraine and Israel, and he advised the President on foreign policy matters pertaining to Russia and Iran. In late March last year, just a little more than a month after Trump took office, the President posted a lengthy endorsement of Graham, referring to the senator as 'a wonderful friend.' Graham's seat will be filled on an interim basis by his sister, Darline Graham Nordone, until the end of his term. Senate Majority Leader John Thune spoke on the recent death of Lindsey Graham on the floor on Monday. Choking up during his address, Thune noted, 'We will laugh together again' Graham's seat will be filled on an interim basis by his sister, Darline Graham Nordone (pictured center), until the end of his term  Nordone was tapped by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster on Monday afternoon as the short-term replacement, and the special Republican primary election to choose the nominee to compete for the seat for a full six-year term will take place on August 11. Graham's colleagues appear ready to welcome Nordone into their ranks. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott was on stage with McMaster and Nordone in Columbia as she was tapped as his pick. In a statement issued after President Donald Trump gave Nordone his nod, Scott shared that he came to the conclusion 'after speaking with Darline, there is no one better who understands Lindsey's love for family, our state, and our country.'