Senator Lindsey Graham dies of aortic dissection after calling aide for help with chest pains

New Details Emerge in Senator Lindsey Graham's Death

An aide to Senator Lindsey Graham called emergency services shortly before he died Saturday, after the South Carolina Republican told her he was experiencing chest pains, according to a fellow GOP lawmaker.

Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama provided new information about Graham's unexpected death to reporters Monday evening.

A woman who worked as Graham's scheduler—and who had previously served as Tuberville's scheduler—received a phone call from the South Carolina senator Saturday night. While Tuberville did not identify the scheduler, a staffer named Taylor Stephens was the scheduling director for the late senator and previously held the same role in Tuberville's office.

According to Tuberville, Graham told her: "Listen, I'm having chest pains. I need to do something." The scheduler asked if Graham had called 911.

"He goes, 'No, that's the reason I called you,'" Tuberville said.

The woman, who had been at a restaurant with a current Tuberville staffer, then contacted emergency services before going to Graham's residence, where emergency personnel had "knocked the door down, and they were working on him."

The information sheds light on the events surrounding the senator's death by "aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease," per his office. Previously, outlets including Fox News reported that the 911 call was made after 8 p.m. Saturday for cardiac arrest. Approximately 25 minutes after the first dispatch, emergency personnel were reportedly performing CPR.

Read more about Graham: Lindsey Graham Embodied the Republican Party's Authoritarian Drift

Reflecting Pool Drain Reveals No Evidence of Vandalism, Contradicting Trump Claims

The most recent draining of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has cast further doubt on President Trump's claims of "vandalism."

The president made this assertion after the "American Flag Blue" paint began peeling off in large chunks and discoloring the water, attributing the failed renovation to a "350-foot gash, made by a very sharp knife or razors." However, Monday's draining revealed no such damage—only what appeared to be tire marks, likely from the president's motorcade driving through the empty pool in May.

Despite this, the president continues to double down on these unsubstantiated claims.

"ABC Fake News and its shaky anchor, David Muir, said that the Reflecting Pool was drained to address Peeling Paint (there is no paint, it was slashed with a knife, or box cutter, high grade colored waterproofing liner—it was VANDALISM!) and Algae Blooms (also caused by Vandals, but removed long ago!)," he wrote late Monday night on Truth Social. "In other words, the story was FAKE NEWS, but heavily slanted away from the real cause of the problem, Vandalism. It will be fixed soon, and better than ever. 60 monuments and fountains have been cleaned and fully renovated in D.C., and crime is at record lows! Washington has never looked better, or been safer!"

Six people have been arrested for alleged vandalism, even though one of them—former Olympic canoe racer David Hearn—contends he was only retrieving one of the massive chunks of the pool's lining that had floated to the surface.

Public skepticism remains high. In June, the president claimed the so-called "gash" was just 250 feet long. The figure then changed to 300 feet, 350 feet, and finally 300 yards long—the size of three football fields. Yet the recent draining has revealed only what resembles tire marks, most likely left by the president himself, not vandals with box cutters. Compounding the issue, this failed vanity project has cost American taxpayers over $14 million.

Editor's Pick: DOJ Loses Its First Reflecting Pool Vandalism Case