Lindsey Graham, a prominent Republican senator in the United States and a key ally of President Donald Trump, has ⁠died aged 71.

Graham passed away on ⁠Saturday evening after a ‌brief and sudden illness, the communications director ⁠for his office ⁠said in ⁠a post ⁠on ⁠X early Sunday.

“Senator Graham’s ⁠family appreciates prayers ⁠at this ⁠time and asks for privacy during this incredibly ‌difficult period,” his office added.

Graham was elected to the US Senate in 2002 and was re-elected in 2008, 2014 and 2020. In 1994, he served in ⁠the US House of Representatives, the lower house of the US Congress, for South Carolina’s third congressional district.

He recently served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. Graham also served as a member of ‌the Senate Committee on Appropriations, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

He was a strong supporter of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq and had long pushed for military action against Iran.

“Graham has consistently pushed for outcomes in the War on Terror that protect our long-term national security interests,” read his website.

He was a strong supporter of Israel and backed Trump’s ongoing war on Iran.

Israel’s Defence Ministry said on Sunday morning it was saddened by the death of Graham, “who stood with Israel in its most difficult time”.

In 2016, he ran for the Republican nomination but dropped out before the primaries began, having been an outspoken critic of Trump. He later became one of his staunchest allies in Congress.

Before entering politics, Graham served for more than six years as an air force lawyer and then, in 1995, joined the air force reserves, where he stayed for 20 years. He retired at the rank of colonel. (Al Jazeera, excluding headline)