Darline Graham, Lindsey Graham’s sister, sworn in as senator
Darline Graham Nordone speaks during a press conference outside the Governor’s South Carolina State House office on July 13, 2026 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Grant Baldwin/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Darline Graham, Lindsey Graham’s sister, was officially sworn in to the Senate on Tuesday afternoon to finish the remainder of her late brother’s term.
Republican Chuck Grassley, the president pro tempore of the Senate, presided over the ceremony.
Darline Graham was escorted by fellow South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, both Republicans, as she approached to dais to take the oath of office. The chamber, filled with a number of Democratic and Republican senators, applauded after she was sworn in.
Lindsey Graham, a four-term Republican senator, died over the weekend at the age of 71. Darline Graham will serve out the remaining months of his current term, which expires in January.
Darline Graham was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster on Monday. President Donald Trump supported her appointment, calling it a fabulous tribute” to Lindsey Graham, who at a young age became Darline Graham’s legal guardian after the deaths of their parents.
“Lindsey has always been there for me. And now I will be there for him,” Darline Graham said on Monday.
Who is Darline Graham?
Darline Graham, who lives in Lexington, South Carolina, has served since 2019 as commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, according to a biography provided by Gov. McMaster’s office on Monday. She also serves on the South Carolina State Workforce Development Board and is president-elect of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind.
She also previously held roles with Clemson University, the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce and the South Carolina Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, the governor’s office said.
Darline Graham, a mother of two, earned a bachelor’s degree from the College of Charleston, a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling and is a certified public manager, according to the release.
After their parents died when Lindsey Graham was 22 years old, he took on a caretaker role for Darline Graham, then 13, and became her legal guardian. Talking to C-SPAN in 2015, Lindsey Graham said his sister’s success was “the highlight” of his life “by far.”
Their close relationship was evident throughout Lindsey Graham’s political career. Darline Graham appeared with him several times on the campaign trail and in campaign videos.
“It is such a privilege to get to finish some of his important work, and I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States,” she said on Monday.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on May 25, 2026, in Arlington, Virginia. Memorial Day honors those who died while serving in the U.S. armed forces. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is expected to hold a Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Wednesday, a White House official confirmed to ABC News.
Sources told ABC News that the plans are subject to change due to possible inclement weather in the Washington, D.C., area.
According to the White House official, all Cabinet members are expected to attend, and the meeting will “highlight recent successes of the administration including economy and small business wins, Task Force to Eliminate Fraud highlights, and foreign policy updates.”
The travel to the presidential retreat was first reported by the New York Post.
The trip would be Trump’s first return to Camp David in almost a year.
Trump previously visited the retreat in Catoctin Mountain Park in Frederick County, Maryland, last June in what the White House described at the time as “a regular off campus retreat of principals attended by the President and Vice President.”
The decision to hold an official Cabinet meeting at Camp David marks a departure from typical practice, though it is not unprecedented. Trump held a Cabinet meeting there in September 2017, as well, which was closed to the press.
Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol, April 27, 2026, in Washington. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Lindsey Graham, a longtime Republican senator from South Carolina, who had become one of President Donald Trump’s staunchest political allies, died on Saturday after a “brief and sudden” illness, his office said in a statement. He was 71.
“Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” said the statement, which was posted early Sunday on social media.
First elected to the Senate in 2002, Graham had in 23 years risen to be one of the chamber’s most prominent figures. He won reelection three times, most recently in 2020.
“Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead!” Trump said on social media on Sunday morning. “He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!!”
The flags above the White House, as well as on the White House North Lawn flagpole, have been lowered to half staff following the news of Graham’s death.
Graham was aligned with the president on most matters and the two were seen together frequently on the golf course and at events. He advised the president on matters of foreign policy, including recently on the Iran war. He was outspoken in support of the president’s decision to lead strikes on nuclear sites in Iran last year.
Graham served as the current chair of the Senate Budget Committee, a role he had most recently used to lead the Senate’s efforts to pass a roughly $70 billion budget reconciliation bill to provide funding for border security. That legislation was signed by Trump in June.
He was a also member of the Appropriations, Judiciary and Environment and Public Works committees.
In his time in the Senate, Graham also helmed the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee from 2019 to 2022.
While atop the panel, he led the committee through the swift confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the final months of Trump’s first term. Graham had earlier been among those who blocked President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland, his pick to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, almost 11 months before the 2016 presidential election.
Graham would have returned to the top GOP position on the committee next Congress.
Before his time in the Senate, Graham had served in the House, where he represented South Carolina’s third district. He was first elected to that office in 1994 and served four terms.
In his more than three decades in Washington, Graham had sparred with several presidents. As a member of the House in 1998, he was appointed a manager of the impeachment proceedings against then-President Bill Clinton. He was a harsh critic of Obama, as well as President Joe Biden, whom he also considered a longtime friend from their years together in the Senate.
Graham was also once numbered among the fiercest critics of Trump, whom he ran against in the 2016 presidential election, a race he withdrew from before the primaries. But their relationship had softened, with Graham saying he had turned into one of his closest friends.
“On a professional level, I am proud to have been there at the beginning when President Trump — through sheer force of will — achieved the greatest political comeback in American history,” Graham said in March 2025. “On a personal level, I genuinely enjoy our friendship. He’s an awesome golfing buddy, who I have yet to beat.”
The president recently endorsed Graham in his primary campaign, in which Graham sailed to victory in June with nearly 57% of the vote, defeating several challengers. He was slated to appear on the ballot this November.
Trump held a tele-rally for Graham ahead of the race, praising their partnership amid the war in Iran, which Graham staunchly defended.
“They cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said at the time. “And Lindsey has been fighting with me all the way. All the way for that. We’ve been a very tough team and I think we are winning that battle.”
He was a member of the Judiciary committee since he first joined the Senate in 2003. His time on the panel was spent working to mold the federal judiciary. While serving on the committee he helped to advance confirmation of conservative judges to the federal bench, and also became a staunch defender of Trump, his close friend and ally.
Graham in recent statements appeared positive that he and Trump would continue in lockstep if Graham was reelected the in fall.
“Let me tell you in ’27, if I win in November, I’ll be chairman of the Judiciary Committee,” he said. “I’ll wake up every morning and go to bed every night, thinking, ‘How many judges can we put on the bench before Trump leaves in ’28.'”
He had been a foreign policy hawk during his time in office, supporting the president in his war with Iran, making visits to Israel and fostering a strong and at-times contentious relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He pushed for military aid to the country, including weapons and financial assistance.
Shortly before his death, Graham made his 10th visit to Ukraine — meeting with Zelenskyy and visiting a drone manufacturer in the country. He and a bipartisan group of senators announced on Friday a bipartisan deal with the White House on a Russia-sanctions bill that Graham had long-championed.
“In my opinion, this summer is the time to go all in to put pressure on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to get to the peace table and end the bloodbath,” he said on July 7.
Zelenskyy said on Sunday that he and Graham met twice in the past week, adding that he was “deeply saddened” by the news, calling the senator a “true defender of freedom,” a “staunch advocate” for Ukraine and a “determined leader.”
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, in a statement posted on Sunday morning, called the senator a “dear friend,” going on to say, “Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend.”
Graham was also highly involved, earlier in his career, in efforts to craft a bipartisan deal on immigration. He worked across the aisle in 2013 to negotiate a border security bill that created a pathway to citizenship for some undocumented migrants while increasing border security and changing immigration rules. That legislation never became law.
Lindsey Olin Graham was born on July 9, 1955, in Central, South Carolina, a town in the state’s northwest that, at that time, had little more than 1,000 residents.
His official Senate biography described his family as “blue collar,” saying his parents ran a local restaurant and pool hall. He became the legal guardian to his younger sister and raised her after his parents died.
“The first member of his family to go to college, Graham earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of South Carolina,” his bio said.
The year after he earned a law degree in 1981, he joined the U.S. Air Force, where he served as a lawyer. He was assigned overseas in Germany between 1984 and 1988, before leaving active duty the following year.
As a reservist, he was later called to active duty during the first Gulf War, during which he served state-side.
He retired as a reservist in June 2015 at the rank of colonel.
Graham lived in Seneca, South Carolina, and was not married. His official biography says he was a member of Corinth Baptist Church.
He last voted in the Senate on June 24, right before the chamber departed for the Fourth of July recess. The Senate is slated to return on Monday.
Graham had been a longtime friend of Sen. John McCain, a Republican, who died in 2018, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Democrat-turned-independent, who died in 2024.
The three “traveled the world together,” Graham said in 2018.
“I’ve seen these guys in action,” Graham said at the time. “I’ve learned a lot from both of them and we had so much fun.”
Majority Leader John Thune said on Sunday that his “heart is heavy” to learn of the death of his friend and colleague.
“As South Carolina’s senior senator, Lindsey fought passionately for the Palmetto State,” Thune said in a post on social media. “He was a trusted adviser and colleague to me and many others, and numerous presidents and heads of state have relied on his counsel. His influence on the federal judiciary, our national defense, and his beloved South Carolina will be felt for generations.”
ABC News’ Shannon Kingston, Nicholas Kerr and Charlotte Gardiner contributed to this report.
Former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on March 04, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General is probing contracts that were handled by former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the influence of former staffer Corey Lewandowski, according to sources.
The investigation is sprawling, according to sources, and court records indicate that at least one former Federal Emergency Management Agency official has received a notice to retain documents.
The IG’s office doesn’t confirm or deny “criminal or administrative” investigations, according to a statement from the office. The office did say it is auditing DHS grants and contracts, which it publicly posted on its website.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
During his confirmation hearing last month, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said that the department will cooperate with any such investigations.
The IG will be “doing the investigation,” Mullin said. “I will do everything required to me by law. And in the policies that you guys give me, there won’t be any gray area with me. We want to have a good relationship with, with the IG. He’s got a job to do.”
The FEMA official in question, Kara Voorhies, was installed by Noem to work at the department on a contract basis, according to sources.
The IG is probing her involvement in FEMA contracting processes. The cost of her contract also is under scrutiny by the IG, according to a source.
Sources have told ABC News that during the Texas floods over the July 4 holiday last year, Voorhies was unreachable during the early part of the floods and senior leadership ended up acting without getting her approval, due to the life and death nature of the floods.
A court filing said last week she is no longer a contractor or employee of FEMA, and acknowledged that her devices were with the OIG as part of the investigation. The lawsuit relates to the FEMA contracting process.
Contact information wasn’t immediately available for Voorhies.
Before President Donald Trump fired Noem as DHS secretary, the DHS IG, Joseph Cuffari, had repeatedly warned Congress that the former secretary was blocking his investigations into various matters and stalling reports from being implemented.
Lewandowski was known around the department as “the chief” according to sources, and had heavy influence in decision making at the Department. He is no longer an employee at DHS, according to a department spokesperson.
The inspector general, according to sources, is scrutinizing how he — along with Noem — handled and awarded the contracts at DHS.
Through a spokesperson to other outlets, he has denied any wrongdoing. ABC News has reached out to Lewandowski’s attorney for comment.
Cuffari warned that the policy change last July eliminating the need for airline passengers to remove their shoes as part of Transportation Security Administration screening procedures created a “significant” security risk, and the recommendations to that report have not yet been implemented despite the secretary’s assertions to Congress that they have.
“I am writing to inform you that OIG has not received such information — written or oral — from DHS or TSA, despite our requests to the Secretary and you for that information,” Cuffari wrote to Ha Nguyen McNeil, the acting TSA administrator, in a March 4 letter. “After receiving this information, OIG will assess whether TSA’s actions adequately address the findings and recommendations and we will evaluate any evidence provided to determine whether the status of each recommendation should be ‘open and unresolved,’ ‘open and resolved,’ or ‘closed.'”
John Sandweg, the former acting general counsel at DHS, said the IG investigation appears to be wide-ranging.
“The scope of the IG review will be sweeping, looking for any improprieties in how contracts were awarded, to include whether any crimes were committed,” he told ABC News. “At the conclusion of the review, the IG would normally document their findings in a public report, describing any violations of regulation or policy or summarizing the ways in which the contract approval process hindered DHS operations.”
