Cardiac arrest reported at Lindsey Graham's home before his death
WASHINGTON – Emergency responders received a report of someone experiencing chest pain at the home of Sen. Lindsey Graham and later described conducting CPR on a person suffering from apparent cardiac arrest, according to audio reviewed by USA TODAY.
Graham, stanch ally of President Donald Trump and one of the most powerful figures in the Senate, died on Saturday, July 11, after what his office described only as a "brief and sudden illness."
The DC medical examiner preliminarily ruled the cause of death as aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, Graham's office said Sunday afternoon. That's when the inner lining of the body's main artery tears and blood leaks out, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Around 8:30 p.m. ET, emergency personnel were dispatched to Graham's home in Capitol Hill following a report of someone suffering chest pain, according to audio on the Broadcastify website, which archives public safety radio feeds.
The dispatcher indicated that the caller, an unidentified woman, was on her way to the home from Baltimore, according to the audio. The dispatcher said the caller believed the door was unlocked, but emergency responders said it was deadbolted shut and no one came to the door after they knocked repeatedly.
The dispatcher then requested help from the Metropolitan Police Department to gain access to the home, according to the audio. Just after 8:50 p.m. ET, emergency personnel said CPR was in progress and that a man was suffering from apparent cardiac arrest.
Neither the dispatcher not the emergency responders identified Graham by name. At one point, an emergency responder referred to a 73-year-old man. Graham was 71.
In a post on X praising Graham, FBI Director Kash Patel said the FBI "is assisting local authorities and has made every necessary resource available."
Shortly before emergency responders arrived at his home, Graham, who had recently returned from a trip to Ukraine, spoke with Trump over the phone.
"He said he's a little tired. It's a long trip, you know, many hours. And he had just gotten back," Trump said during a July 12 phone interview on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Trump said emergency responders appeared to have arrived at Graham's home shortly after their call ended.
"I mean, it must have been right after that because I understand the police, or whoever it is, came there about 7:30, 8 o'clock in the evening," Trump said, adding that the two planned to speak again soon.
"We thought we might even meet today. And then that was it," the president said. "It could have been his last call. I don't know exactly."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cardiac arrest reported at Lindsey Graham's home before his death
Reporting by Christopher Cann, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
This story was originally published July 12, 2026 at 5:16 PM.