2026年7月16日 美国东部时间凌晨12:00 / 福克斯新闻
亨利·麦克马斯特州长任命林赛·格雷厄姆的妹妹完成剩余任期
https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/Pergram.jpg
作者：查德·珀格拉姆 福克斯新闻
2026年7月16日 凌晨12:00美国东部时间发布 | 2026年7月16日 凌晨12:03美国东部时间更新
达琳·格雷厄姆宣誓就职，接替已故兄长担任南卡罗来纳州联邦参议员
福克斯新闻首席国会通讯员查德·珀格拉姆在《特别报道》节目中报道了达琳·格雷厄姆宣誓就职，成为南卡罗来纳州临时联邦参议员的消息，此前她的兄长、参议员林赛·格雷厄姆去世。
NEW 您现在可以收听福克斯新闻的文章！
blob:https://www.foxnews.com/349b68c6-bd5b-486d-b804-e7ea94885066
收听本文
8分钟
那是周日美国东部时间凌晨2点35分。
电话铃响了，将我从熟睡中拽醒。
这种时候打来的电话从来都不是好事。
在接起电话的那一瞬间，对于任何一名在国会山报道新闻、且在这个时段接到电话的记者来说，我的第一反应都在意料之中。
林赛·格雷厄姆：从小镇出身成长为共和党权力掮客的南卡罗来纳州参议员，享年71岁辞世
https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/Darline_Lindsey_Graham.jpg
前联邦参议员林赛·格雷厄姆于2015年6月1日在南卡罗来纳州与妹妹达琳·格雷厄姆·诺多内拥抱。（杰西卡·麦高/盖蒂图片社）
我当时笃定，电话一定是关于前参议院多数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔（肯塔基州共和党人）的。
几周来，麦康奈尔一直缺席、杳无音信——此前他因不明疾病住院。网络上充斥着各种阴谋论和猜测。考虑到信息匮乏，我预感最坏的情况发生了。
我接起电话，来电的是我的长期同事朱迪·柯蒂斯。朱迪是福克斯新闻的资深人士，因生病被迫在周末担任通宵编辑值班。朱迪打电话告诉我，参议员林赛·格雷厄姆（南卡罗来纳州共和党人）去世了。
“格雷厄姆？”我难以置信地问道，“不是麦康奈尔？”
从恍惚中回过神来，我本能地以为这次通报可能和那位身体欠安的肯塔基州共和党人有关。你要是猜测这个深夜来电是关于麦康奈尔的，那可比在丘吉尔唐斯赛马场押中精确连赢赌注的概率还高。
我的直觉立刻发挥了作用。
万一这是俄罗斯、中国或伊朗的心理战呢？一场骗局、一个恶作剧、一次黑客攻击。
我让同事稍等片刻，我们需要核实消息。搞错的代价太高了。
回到上世纪90年代，议员们曾在众议院议事厅“宣告”喜剧演员鲍勃·霍普去世，在特别议程演讲中过早宣布了他的死讯。我本人——还有华盛顿的所有人——也曾过早报道已故众议员斯蒂芬妮·塔布斯-琼斯（俄亥俄州民主党人）的死讯。她曾遭受严重的脑动脉瘤，在医护人员移除她的生命支持设备后，她又存活了几个小时才去世。
不过，很快我们就确认了林赛·格雷厄姆确实已经离世。我很快就上了直播。当被问及格雷厄姆去世的冲击时，我引用了一句北美原住民谚语：“死亡总会降临，且总不合时宜。”
林赛·格雷厄姆走了。但谁将接替他在国会山的职位呢？
想想家族成员吧——至少在现阶段是这样。
参议员凯蒂·布里特（阿拉巴马州共和党人）和蒂姆·斯科特（南卡罗来纳州共和党人）都恳请已故参议员的妹妹达琳·格雷厄姆追随兄长的脚步。特朗普总统认为这是对格雷厄姆的恰当致敬。南卡罗来纳州州长亨利·麦克马斯特（共和党人）也持同样看法——他负责这项任命。
“我很荣幸邀请他的妹妹现在继续完成他的工作，”麦克马斯特说道。
达琳·格雷厄姆在政坛上是个新手。父母去世后，林赛·格雷厄姆收养了当时还是青少年的妹妹。
“林赛一直都在我身边。现在我会为他站出来，”已成为参议员的达琳·格雷厄姆（南卡罗来纳州共和党人）说道。
林赛·格雷厄姆曾是妹妹的监护人。如今，她将接任他的参议院席位，任职至明年1月。
但下一个人选会是谁？
南卡罗来纳州的国会代表团人数不多。众议员乔·威尔逊（南卡罗来纳州共和党人）迅速排除了自己直接参选的可能，他指出留在众议院的重要性。如果从南卡罗来纳州的众议院共和党议员中挑选一人任命到参议院，这对共和党微弱的多数派优势将是个问题。宪法禁止众议员同时兼任参议员。因此，如果麦克马斯特挑选一名众议员填补林赛·格雷厄姆的空缺，将会削弱共和党狭窄的多数席位优势。填补空缺的众议院席位需要数月时间来举行特别选举。
任命达琳·格雷厄姆解决了这个难题。
众议员拉塞尔·弗莱（南卡罗来纳州共和党人）、南希·梅斯（南卡罗来纳州共和党人）和拉尔夫·诺曼（南卡罗来纳州共和党人）都有意竞选完整任期。南卡罗来纳州将于8月中旬举行快速初选。获胜者将在11月与民主党人安妮·安德鲁斯对决。林赛·格雷厄姆上月刚刚获得第五个任期的共和党提名。
特朗普总统的影响力将在最终人选的确定上发挥关键作用。他已经明确表态支持弗莱。
但今年秋季的选举将与以往有所不同。11月将是自20世纪50年代中期以来，林赛·格雷厄姆或已故传奇参议员斯特罗姆·瑟蒙德（南卡罗来纳州共和党人）首次不会出现在南卡罗来纳州（棕榈州）的 ballot 上。
格雷厄姆去世后，参议院于周一下午举行了首次会议。
“主啊，我们感恩他对托付给他的职责的坚守，以及他为这个国家的人民所做的种种服务。请给他的家人、朋友、同事和所有哀悼他离世的人带来慰藉、力量与平和，”参议院牧师巴里·布莱克祈祷道。
参议院用黑色斗篷覆盖了格雷厄姆的办公桌，桌上摆放着一束白玫瑰，象征着这位参议院巨头离开后，新的开始。
“没有他，参议院的大厅已经显得空荡荡了，”参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩（南达科他州共和党人）说道。
“这并不正常”：奥卡西奥-科特兹怒斥麦康奈尔长期缺席
https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/lindsey-graham.jpg
前参议员林赛·格雷厄姆于2023年12月7日在华盛顿特区美国国会大厦出席边境安全新闻发布会。（凯文·迪特/盖蒂图片社）
民众们在格雷厄姆位于罗素参议院办公大楼的办公室外留下了便签和鲜花。
参议员们称赞了格雷厄姆的坚韧。
“他不只是想争论不休，而是真正想要解决问题，”参议员詹姆斯·兰克福德（俄克拉荷马州共和党人）在福克斯新闻上说道。
甚至直到最后一刻。
上周末，格雷厄姆似乎就一项俄罗斯制裁法案达成了协议。
“这有可能，这有可能结束乌克兰战争。它将向俄罗斯施加全部压力，最终结束他们非法的侵略战争，”参议员安格斯·金（缅因州无党派人士）预测道。
林赛·格雷厄姆1994年首次当选国会议员，成为“共和党革命”的一员。这一历史性的议员群体首次在40年来将众议院的控制权翻转至共和党手中。格雷厄姆和参议院军事委员会主席罗杰·威克（密西西比州共和党人）是1994年当选的议员中仅剩的两位仍在国会任职的人。
格雷厄姆在抵达华盛顿仅四年后就获得了全国知名度。众议院共和党领袖任命格雷厄姆担任众议院“经理人”之一，在参议院审理针对克林顿总统的弹劾条款。
“弹劾不是为了惩罚，”格雷厄姆在1999年1月参议院听证会上辩称，“弹劾是为了净化公职。”
三年后，格雷厄姆离开众议院，成为参议院100名议员之一。但他的同僚们承认，整个参议院当时只剩下99人，显得空洞无物。
“我感到欣慰的是，归根结底，他只是换了个地址。总有一天，议长先生……”图恩在参议院议场上说道，停顿了十秒钟。“我们会再次一起欢笑。”
随后，这位多数党领袖的声音哽咽，强忍住泪水。
“议长先生，我让出议事时间，”图恩低声说道。
到周二下午，达琳·格雷厄姆成为了美国历史上第2022位参议员。而且是首位直接接替兄长的参议员。
“他总说，他最大的成就就是培养出了达琳这样的人，”布里特说道。
“我很高兴又会有一位格雷厄姆参议员，达琳将和我们一同履职，”参议员克里斯·库恩斯（特拉华州民主党人）说道，“这将有助于保持政策的连续性。”
格雷厄姆的离世给国会留下了巨大的空白。
“没有格雷厄姆参议员，任何法案都很难通过，因为他在参议院一直是举足轻重的声音，”参议员辛西娅·卢米斯（怀俄明州共和党人）说道。
目前尚不清楚这些工作是否会落到这位参议院新成员肩上。
林赛·格雷厄姆的妹妹延续已故参议员的事业，成为南卡罗来纳州首位女性参议员
https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/Senator-Darline-Graham-sworn-in.jpg
达琳·格雷厄姆·诺多内在南卡罗来纳州哥伦比亚市州长办公室外举行的新闻发布会上发言。（格兰特·鲍德温/盖蒂图片社）
点击此处下载福克斯新闻APP
达琳·格雷厄姆在2015年林赛·格雷厄姆短暂竞选总统期间就站在他身边。她表示，小时候林赛教她骑自行车。
“他会扶着自行车，我踩着踏板前进。他会在旁边跟着跑，给我一个大大的推力，大喊‘继续踩！继续踩！’”这位新参议员说道，“而当我停下脚步摔下车时，也是他在一旁安慰我。”
如今，达琳·格雷厄姆再次跨上那辆自行车，完成林赛·格雷厄姆的剩余任期。
你几乎能听到那位已故参议员带着他“上州”口音的声音，向他的妹妹大喊：“继续踩！继续踩！”
查德·珀格拉姆目前担任福克斯新闻频道（FNC）首席国会通讯员。他于2007年9月加入该电视台，总部位于华盛顿特区。
Lindsey Graham’s final act reverberates in Senate as sister is urged to “keep pedaling”
2026-07-16 12:00am EDT / Fox News
Gov Henry McMaster tapped Lindsey Graham’s sister to serve the remainder of his term
https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/Pergram.jpg
By Chad Pergram Fox News
Published July 16, 2026 12:00am EDT | Updated July 16, 2026 12:03am EDT
Darline Graham sworn in to complete late brother’s term as South Carolina US senator
Fox News chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports on Darline Graham being sworn in as South Carolina’s interim U.S. senator following the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, on ‘Special Report.’
NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!
blob:https://www.foxnews.com/349b68c6-bd5b-486d-b804-e7ea94885066
Listen to this article
8 min
It was 2:35 am et Sunday.
The phone rang, yanking me out of deep slumber.
Calls like these are never good.
In the split second before I answered the phone, my mind traveled to the obvious place for any journalist who covers Capitol Hill and gets a call at that hour.
LINDSEY GRAHAM, SOUTH CAROLINA SENATOR WHO ROSE FROM SMALL-TOWN ROOTS TO GOP POWER BROKER, DIES AT 71
https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/Darline_Lindsey_Graham.jpg
Former U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham hugs his sister Darline Graham Nordone on June 1, 2015, in South Carolina.(Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)
Surely it was about former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
McConnell has been out of service and nowhere to be found for weeks — after being hospitalized with an unspecified illness. The internet was rife with conspiracy theories and conjecture. And, considering the dearth of information, I suspected the worst.
My longtime colleague Jodie Curtis was on the line when I picked up. Jodie is a senior figure at Fox, forced into weekend overnight assignment editor duty because of an illness. Jodie calling to tell me that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was dead.
“Graham?” I asked incredulously. “Not McConnell?”
Emerging from my stupor, I instinctively presumed this might be about the infirm, Kentucky Republican. You’d have better odds presuming that overnight call was about McConnell than hitting an exacta wheel at Churchill Downs.
My instincts immediately kicked in.
What if this was psy-ops by the Russians, Chinese or Iranians. A rouse. A hoax. A hack.
I told my colleague to just wait a moment while we confirmed. It would be easy to get this wrong.
Back in the 1990s, lawmakers “killed” comedian Bob Hope on the House floor, prematurely announcing his death during special orders speeches. Yours truly – and everyone else in Washington – prematurely reported the death of the late Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-OH). She suffered from a catastrophic brain aneurism. Yet after they removed the Congresswoman from life support, she continued to live for a few hours before dying.
However, it became clear that Lindsey Graham was indeed dead. I was quickly on the air. When asked about the shock of Graham passing, I invoked a Native American adage: Death comes. And it’s always out of season.
Lindsey Graham was gone. But who would succeed him on Capitol Hill?
Think all in the family. At least for now.
Sens. Katie Britt (R-AL) and Tim Scott (R-SC) both implored the late senator’s kid sister Darline Graham to follow her brother. President Trump believed it would be a fitting tribute to the senator. So did South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) – who was in charge the appointment.
“It’s my honor to ask his sister to finish his work now,” said McMaster.
Darline Graham is a political neophyte. Lindsey Graham adopted his sister after their parents died – and Darline was a teenager.
“Lindsey has always been there for me. And now I will be there for him,” said now Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC).
Lindsey Graham was his sister’s caretaker. Now she’s the caretaker of his Senate seat until January.
But who’s next?
South Carolina has a small Congressional delegation. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) quickly excluded himself from the immediate running, noting the importance of remaining in the House. Plucking one of South Carolina’s House GOP members and appointing them to the Senate is a problem for the narrow Republican majority. The Constitution bars appointments to the House. So McMaster would have diminished the GOP’s slim majority had he picked a House member to fill in for Lindsey Graham. It would take months to conduct a special election to fill the vacant House seat.
Appointing Darline Graham solves that problem.
Reps. Russell Fry (R-SC), Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Ralph Norman (R-SC) are all interested in running for the full term. South Carolina will hold a snap primary in mid August. The winner will face Democrat Annie Andrews in November. Lindsey Graham had just secured the Republican nomination for a fifth term last month.
President Trump’s influence will play an outsized role in who gets the nod. He’s already singled out Fry.
But the election will look a little different this fall. November will mark the first time since the mid-1950s that either Lindsey Graham or late, legendary Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC) isn’t on the ballot in the Palmetto State.
The Senate met for the first time Monday afternoon since Graham’s passing.
“Lord, we remember with gratitude his commitment to the responsibilities entrusted to him and the many ways he sought to serve the people of this country. Give comfort, strength and peace to his family, friends, colleagues and all who mourn his passing,” prayed Senate Chaplain Barry Black.
The Senate shrouded Graham’s desk with a black cloak. A bouquet of white roses rested on the desk, signifying a new beginning without a Senate titan.
“The halls of the Senate already feel empty without him,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).
‘THIS IS NOT NORMAL’: AOC UNLOADS ON MCCONNELL’S PROLONGED ABSENCE
https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/lindsey-graham.jpg
Former Sen. Lindsey Graham attends a press conference on border security at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on December 7, 2023.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Well wishers left notecards and flowers outside Graham’s office in the Russell Senate Office Building.
Senators praised Graham’s tenacity.
“He didn’t want to just argue about things. He wanted to actually solve things,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) on Fox.
Even until the end.
Over the weekend, Graham appeared to forge a deal on a Russia sanctions measure.
“This could be well, this could well be the end of the war in Ukraine. It could put all the pressure on Russia to finally end their illegal war of aggression,” predicted Sen. Angus King (I-ME).
Lindsey Graham first won a seat in Congress in 1994 as part of the “Republican Revolution.” That’s the historic class which flipped control of the House for the first time in 40 years. Graham and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) are the only members from that 1994 class still serving in Congress.
Graham earned a national profile barely four years after arriving in Washington. House GOP leaders tapped Graham to serve as one of the House “managers,” prosecuting articles of impeachment for President Clinton in the Senate.
“Impeachment is not about punishment,” argued Graham before the Senate in January, 1999. “Impeachment is about cleansing the office.”
Three years after that, Graham left the House. He became one of 100 in the Senate. But his colleagues conceded that the institution felt hollow at just 99.
“I am comforted by the knowledge that in the end, he has just changed his address. And that one day, Mr. President….” said Thune on the floor, pausing for ten seconds. “We will laugh together again.”
The Leader’s voice then cracked as he fought back tears.
“Mr. President, I yield the floor,” Thune whispered.
By Tuesday afternoon, Darline Graham became the 2,022nd senator in American history. But the first to immediately succeed her brother.
“He always said that his greatest accomplishment was the way that Darline turned out,” said Britt.
“I’m glad that there will be another Sen. Graham and that Darline will serve with us,” said
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE). “That’ll allow for some continuity.”
Graham’s passing leaves a Congressional chasm.
“It will be difficult to pass anything without Sen. Graham because he’s been such a significant voice in the Senate,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY).
It’s unclear if any of that will fall to the Senate’s newest member.
LINDSEY GRAHAM’S SISTER CARRIES ON LATE SENATOR’S WORK, BECOMING SOUTH CAROLINA’S FIRST FEMALE SENATOR
https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/Senator-Darline-Graham-sworn-in.jpg
Darline Graham Nordone speaks during a press conference outside the governor’s South Carolina State House office in Columbia.(Grant Baldwin/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Darline Graham joined her brother’s side when he briefly ran for President in 2015. She says Lindsey taught her how to ride a bike while growing up.
“He would hold on to the bicycle as I pedaled. And he’d run along beside of me. Give me a big push and shout ‘Keep pedaling! Keep pedaling!’ said the new senator. ” And then he was the one who comforted me when I stopped pedaling and fell off the bicycle.”
Today, Darline Graham is again hopping onto that bicycle to finish Lindsey Graham’s term.
You can almost hear the late senator, in his “upstate” twang shouting to his sister “Keep pedaling! Keep pedaling!”
Chad Pergram currently serves as Chief Congressional Correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.