US Governor of South Carolina and Republican Henry McMaster appointed Darlene Graham, the younger sister of the sudden death of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, on July 13, local time, to take over Lindsey Graham for the remainder of Lindsey Graham's term. Darlene Graham agreed to take over. McMaster said he had informed President Trump of the news. Earlier in the day, Trump publicly urged McMaster on social media to choose Graham's sister to take over. Darlene Graham will be in office until January next year when the new Congress is sworn in. The South Carolina senator seat vacated after Lindsey Graham's sudden death will be taken over by the winner of the midterm elections in November this year. The appointment restored the Republican caucus seat in the US Senate to 52 after Graham's seat was briefly vacant. But at the same time, Republicans still have to deal with Mitch McConnell's absence. According to US media analysis, this means that in the next few weeks, the Senate Republican Party leadership will face “extremely limited room for fault tolerance” when promoting priorities such as national defense, national security, and judicial nominations.

US Governor of South Carolina and Republican Henry McMaster appointed Darlene Graham, the younger sister of the sudden death of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, on July 13, local time, to take over Lindsey Graham for the remainder of Lindsey Graham's term. Darlene Graham agreed to take over. McMaster said he had informed President Trump of the news. Earlier in the day, Trump publicly urged McMaster on social media to choose Graham's sister to take over. Darlene Graham will be in office until January next year when the new Congress is sworn in. The South Carolina senator seat vacated after Lindsey Graham's sudden death will be taken over by the winner of the midterm elections in November this year. The appointment restored the Republican caucus seat in the US Senate to 52 after Graham's seat was briefly vacant. But at the same time, Republicans still have to deal with Mitch McConnell's absence. According to US media analysis, this means that in the next few weeks, the Senate Republican Party leadership will face “extremely limited room for fault tolerance” when promoting priorities such as national defense, national security, and judicial nominations.