Sister of late Sen. Lindsey Graham to fill his remaining term, at Trump's recommendation

Darline Graham Nordone will serve out the remaining Senate term of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who died suddenly on July 12.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced the appointment at a press conference at the state Capitol on Monday, saying Nordone would fulfill Graham's term, which expires in January next year. Graham won his fourth Senate term in the 2020 election, with his term running through January of next year. Nordone will serve in an interim capacity until that point.

Nordone is expected to be sworn in Wednesday. The Associated Press reported that she will be the first woman to represent South Carolina in the US Senate.

"Lindsey was always there for me," Nordone said at the press conference. "Now I will be there for him."

The appointment also came at the recommendation of President Donald Trump.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had recommended "Lindsey Graham's wonderful sister, Darline," to Gov. McMaster as South Carolina's interim senator, adding that it "would be a beautiful tribute to Lindsey, who loved her deeply."

Graham, a four-term senator and one of Trump's closest allies, was a prominent hawk who advocated a hard line against North Korea, China, Russia and Iran. A strong proponent of bolstering support for Ukraine to counter Russia, he died suddenly on July 12 — the day after returning from a visit to Ukraine. The Washington, D.C., medical examiner's office preliminarily attributed his death to aortic dissection, a condition in which a tear in the inner wall of the aorta allows blood to seep between the vessel's layers.