Schiff mourns Lindsey Graham, calls Iran war unlawful and unconstitutional

Adam Schiff used a Sunday appearance on Meet the Press to praise the late Sen. Lindsey Graham as “larger than life” and to announce that he would introduce a new War Powers Resolution this week aimed at President Trump’s Iran policy. Schiff, the California Democrat, said the war was “unlawful” and “unconstitutional” and warned that it was already squeezing Americans through higher gas and grocery costs.

Graham died Saturday evening, July 11, 2026, after a brief and sudden illness, his office said. He was 71 and had served more than two decades in the Senate. He had just returned to Washington from Ukraine before his death and had been scheduled to join Kristen Welker on Meet the Press for what would have been his 64th appearance.

Schiff said Graham had the kind of presence that cut through the Capitol’s noise. He described the South Carolina Republican as full of energy and said he could “disagree and not be disagreeable,” while crediting him with a “wonderful sense of humor” and a habit of easing tension with self-effacing jokes. He was a four-term Republican senator from South Carolina and a foreign-policy voice and ally of Donald Trump.

Trump ordered flags lowered to half-staff in Graham’s honor, while JD Vance and Senate Majority Leader John Thune also publicly paid tribute. Graham’s scheduled Sunday appearance on Meet the Press was scrapped overnight after news of his death broke.