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Emergency dispatch audio reviewed by Fox News Digital captures the emergency response to Sen. Lindsey Graham’s Washington, DC, home on Saturday night, revealing that first responders were sent to report a cardiac arrest before the Senate’s office announced his death on Sunday morning.
District of Columbia Fire and EMS radio traffic shows the first dispatch came in shortly after 8 p.m. local time, when responders were dispatched to Graham’s home for a report of cardiac arrest.
As units responded, dispatchers relayed that the caller reported the front door was open. But after arriving they found that the door was locked and there was no response from the inside, the first responders asked the officers of the Metropolitan Police Department to respond in case of forced entry.
About 20 to 25 minutes after the initial dispatch, radio traffic indicated that CPR was still in progress as emergency personnel worked inside the home. The audio does not identify Graham by name or describe the patient’s condition.
Authorities were heard over the radio saying the incident would be handled “only as a Capitol Police matter.” The last proper radio traffic came in shortly after 9:30 p.m
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM DIES AT 71 AFTER ‘BRIEF AND ACTUAL ILLNESS,’ OFFICE SAYS
Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., died Saturday, July 11, 2026. He was 71 years old. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The transcripts provide few additional details about what the responders encountered inside the residence or what medical assistance, if any, was provided prior to Graham’s death.
Graham’s office later announced that the 71-year-old senator died Saturday evening following a “short and sudden” illness.
“On Saturday night, July 11, United States Senator Lindsey Graham passed away after a brief and sudden illness,” her office wrote in a statement.
“Senator Graham’s family appreciates the prayers at this time and requests privacy during this incredibly difficult time,” the statement continued.
LINDSEY GRAHAM, SOUTH CAROLINA SENATOR WHO ROSE FROM SMALL-TOWN ROOTS TO GOP POWER BROKER, DIES AT 71.
Audio from emergency dispatches reviewed by Fox News Digital records the emergency response before Graham’s office announced his death. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in the District of Columbia released preliminary results Sunday suggesting that Graham died of aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
“The preliminary test results were: Aortic Dissection due to Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease,” according to the medical examiner’s office.
Officials added Graham’s death certificate will remain pending until toxicology and microscopic examinations are completed.
“The death certificate is pending until all toxicological and microscopic examinations are completed and at that time the death certificate will be updated to indicate the cause of death and properly classify the manner of death,” the medical examiner’s office said.
Fox News Digital reached out to DC Fire and EMS and the US Capitol Police for more information on the emergency response.
FROM ‘AWAY’ TO ‘FAMILY’: TRUMP’S AMAZING JOURNEY WITH LINDSEY GRAHAM
President Donald Trump called Graham “a true American Patriot” in a Truth Social tribute. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump paid tribute to Graham on Truth Social Saturday night, calling the longtime South Carolina lawmaker “a true American patriot.”
“Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead!” Trump wrote. “She was always active, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be sorely missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS MUST DOWNLOAD. So sad!”
Graham was elected to the US Senate in 2002 and took office in 2003 after serving four terms in the US House of Representatives. He won three re-elections and was seeking a fifth Senate term after winning the Republican primary last month.
He served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and sat on the Appropriations, Judiciary, and Environmental and Public Works committees.
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The longtime lawmaker recently met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Friday and was scheduled to appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program Sunday morning.
Beyond Congress, Graham served 33 years in the US Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, retiring as a colonel in 2015.
The Air Force veteran, who served in Germany during the Cold War, was called to duty during the Gulf War and later completed multiple Reserve deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan during congressional breaks.
