On Monday, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster announced the appointment of the younger sister of the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to succeed him in office until the end of his term. This came a few hours after US President Donald Trump publicly called on him to appoint her.
Darlene Graham Norden will serve in the US Senate until Graham’s term expires in January.
“It is a great honour for me to ask his younger sister, Darlene Graham, to carry on his work,” McMaster said as he announced the appointment.
She will hold the post until 3 January, until voters decide in November who will fill the seat for the next six-year term.
Trump had previously recommended Nordon for the role, describing the appointment on his Truth Social platform as a “wonderful tribute” to Graham.
“It would be a wonderful tribute to Lindsey, who truly loved her,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Monday morning.
Other candidates were initially considered, including Lieutenant Governor Pam Evett, whom Trump supported in her unsuccessful bid to secure the Republican nomination for governor, former Representative Trey Gaudy and former Senator Jim DeMint, according to Fox News sources.
The media note that Graham, who has never been married and has no children, was very close to his sister. Their mother died in 1976, when Graham was 20 and Nordon was 12. Less than two years later, their father died of a heart attack. Graham, who was 22 at the time, adopted his 13-year-old sister.
Lindsey Graham was 71 years old. He died on the evening of 11 July in Washington, shortly after returning from Ukraine. The statement announcing his death said he had died following a “brief and sudden illness”. It later emerged that an ambulance had been called to his home after he complained of chest pain. According to preliminary findings, the cause of his sudden death was an aortic dissection resulting from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
US President Donald Trump told journalists that he had spoken to Graham on the phone shortly before he fell ill. According to Trump, they had been discussing political issues, including Graham’s trip to Ukraine; the senator sounded tired, but he did not complain of any health problems.