Trump says US sen. Lindsey Graham felt "good" shortly before passing

US Senator Lindsey Graham dies of a "brief and sudden illness"at the age of 71.

Graham was a prominent Republican from South

Carolina.

The White House lowered the US flag to half-staff following the death of the senator, while US President Donald Trump recalls his friendship with Graham, saying he was like "a member of the family."

Earlier in his career, Graham was a vocal critic of US

President Donald Trump before becoming one of his most loyal

allies on Capitol Hill.

Trump says he spoke with Graham over the phone shortly before his sudden passing and said Graham told him: "I feel good, but I'm tired."

As recently as Friday, Graham was seen performing duties,

and had met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

in Kyiv.

Via social media on Sunday, Graham's communications director

confirmed the senator died Saturday.

Graham was elected to the US Senate in 2002.

Before serving in the upper house, he was elected to the

US House of Representatives in 1994 for South Carolina's

third congressional district, according to his website.

A defence hawk, he's known for his hard push for national

security and a stern supporter of the so-called "War on Terror."

Graham recently served as Chairman of the Senate Budget

Committee, a member of the Senate

Committee on Appropriations, Senate Judiciary Committee and

Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Graham was not married and lived in Seneca, South Carolina.