Lindsey Graham’s sister appointed to his Senate seat

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham Nordone, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, to fill his Senate seat Monday, setting her up to become the state’s first female senator once she is sworn in.

McMaster, a Republican, announced the appointment at a news conference alongside Nordone, describing Graham as “this irresistible man, this irreplaceable man, this extraordinary man” and saying state law required him to name someone to serve in Graham’s place.

“Lindsey took care of his little sister in years long departed,” McMaster said. “It’s my honor to ask his little sister, Darline Graham, to finish his work for him now.”

Nordone thanked the governor for the appointment. “It is such an honor,” she said. “Lindsey has always been there for me, and now I will be there for him.” The BBC reported that she also said she believed “this is what Lindsey would have wanted and I plan to honour him in this way.”

Graham died Saturday at age 71. His office said Sunday that the preliminary diagnosis was a rupture of his aorta due to a hardening of his arteries. The BBC reported that the Washington, D.C., medical examiner’s preliminary finding identified the cause as an “aortic dissection” caused by cardiovascular disease, and that Graham’s spokesperson said the death certificate would remain pending until toxicological and microscopic testing is completed.

The length of Nordone’s appointment was described differently by the outlets. NBC News reported that she will complete Graham’s six-year term, which ends Jan. 3. The BBC reported that McMaster said she would serve the remainder of Graham’s term, set to end in 2027, and that neither Nordone nor the governor said whether she would campaign for the full six-year term or serve only temporarily until January 2027.

Nordone has not previously held public office. The BBC reported that she is a mother of two who works helping people with disabilities find jobs. Graham and Nordone lost both parents within 15 months when Graham was 22 and she was 13. She lived with family members while Graham studied law and served in the Air Force, and he later legally adopted her so she could receive his military benefits if anything happened to him.

“He’s kind of like a brother, a father and a mother rolled into one,” Nordone told The New York Times in 2015, according to the BBC.

Graham, who never married and had no children, was elected to the Senate in 2002 and became one of Washington’s most prominent Republican voices on foreign policy. The BBC reported that he had recently returned from Kyiv, where he met Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and spoke with President Donald Trump the night before his death.

His death immediately altered the Senate’s balance, at least temporarily. Republicans held a 53-47 majority before Graham died, but with his seat vacant and Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky hospitalized and unable to vote, NBC News reported that the GOP’s effective voting strength fell to 51 seats for Monday’s floor vote.

The impact is especially sharp on committees. Graham served on the Appropriations Committee, which is trying to reach a government funding agreement before a Sept. 30 shutdown deadline. With Graham’s seat vacant, the panel is split 14-14; with McConnell absent, Democrats would have a one-seat edge if the committee voted on legislation, NBC News reported. Once Nordone is sworn in, Republicans can adjust committee assignments, but NBC News reported that McConnell’s absence would still leave the panel evenly divided.

Graham’s death also leaves open the chairmanship of the Senate Budget Committee. NBC News reported that Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin would be next in line if seniority determines the succession, because Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Mike Crapo of Idaho already chair other committees.