Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Trump orders flags at half-mast for senator’s death

The U.S. president said he urged South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to appoint Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordon, to fill the Senate vacancy following her brother’s passing.

Lindsey Graham
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) speaks at a press conference in Tel Aviv, Aug. 28, 2025. Credit: Flash90.

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff nationwide in memory of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who died on July 11. He was 71 years old.

The order also applies to U.S. embassies, consulates, military facilities and other federal installations overseas.

The president stated on social media that he had recommended to South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster that Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, serve as interim senator in his place.

McMaster, who under South Carolina law is responsible for naming a temporary replacement, scheduled a 4 p.m. news conference on Monday to announce his appointment. The appointee will serve until Graham’s current term expires on Jan. 3, while a special election will determine who serves the next full term.

Sen Tim. Scott (R-S.C.) stated that Nordone “would be a fantastic pick to serve out the remainder of the Senate term.”

“After speaking with Darline, there is no one better who understands Lindsey’s love for family, our state and our country,” he wrote.

Dinaw Mengestu wrote on Instagram that he left because of an “ongoing failure to defend free expression fairly and equitably.”
“Whoever ends up getting this seat, they’re not going to have as much foreign policy experience as Lindsey Graham,” Christopher Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University, told JNS.
“These men allegedly spewed vile hate and threatened violent attacks against Jews,” the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia said. “Threats against any person based on his or her religious belief will not be tolerated.”
Abdul El-Sayed said that the Minnesota congresswoman is “one of the most courageous and unwavering fighters in Congress right now.”
David Bolchover talks to JNS about his new book, which tells the stories of 11 Jewish football stars murdered in the Holocaust.
The Jewish community in Indiana rallied outside the Zionsville home, after a fire caused more than $150,000 in damage.