Lindsey Graham, the veteran Republican senator from South Carolina, died suddenly late on Saturday night of as yet unknown causes at the age of 71. Over more than two decades in the Senate he became one of its best-known foreign-policy hawks and, in recent years, one of Donald Trump's staunchest defenders. Beyond his legislative role, he had become the de facto television face of the Senate for millions of casual American viewers, a fixture of Sunday morning political programmes and a frequent target of late-night comedy.

Graham's media-friendly manner, quick wit and enthusiasm for arguing in favour of US military action made him a favourite of broadcast and cable-news bookers, a status underlined by his scheduled appearance on Meet the Press the very morning after his death. He had just returned from a trip to Turkey and Ukraine, where he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and had been expected to press for more aggressive US intervention abroad. Known for shifting positions, particularly on Trump, he was more recognisable than neighbouring senators such as Ted Budd and Bill Hagerty; his record included a decades-long television presence dating back to the 1998 Clinton impeachment hearings, advocacy for the recent $70 billion ICE funding package, and a rare criticism of Trump's pardoning of January 6 offenders.