WASHINGTON (AP) — Darline Graham, the sister of the late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, was sworn in to the Senate on Tuesday afternoon — filling the seat just three days after her brother’s death.
Graham was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster on Monday to fill the remaining months of her brother’s current term and arrived in Washington just a day later to take the oath of office. Senators, staff and family members looked on in the packed chamber, many of them visibly emotional, as Graham was sworn in by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the most senior Republican senator.
A separate special election will be held next month to pick a new Republican nominee in the general election for Lindsey Graham’s seat, as he had been seeking a fifth term this year.
Darline Graham, who will be the state’s first female senator, has not previously held public office. She has worked as an optician and at various state agencies, including the South Carolina Commission for the Blind and the Department of Employment and Workforce. She is married to Larry Nordone but will be known in the Senate as Darline Graham, her legal name.
She said on Monday that her older brother, who raised her after their parents died, had always been there for her. “And now, I will be there for him,” she said.
After she was sworn in, Graham walked to her brother's desk and stood behind it as dozens of senators from both parties lined up to shake her hand or give her a hug. She attended the weekly Senate Republican luncheon before the ceremony, where Lindsey Graham's former colleagues told stories about him and welcomed her to the Senate.
Graham, 71, died unexpectedly on Saturday in Washington. A preliminary report from the medical examiner said he suffered a tear in his aorta, known as an aortic dissection.
One of President Donald Trump’s closest allies in the Senate, Graham was the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and was set to become the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee in the next Congress. Darline Graham will receive her own committee assignments in the coming days.
Lindsey Graham, who was not married and did not have children, was exceptionally close to his sister. He became her legal guardian after their parents died, when he was 22 and she was 13. She often appeared at his campaign events and supported him in speeches and campaign ads, and she was there as he filed reelection paperwork earlier this year, along with her children and grandchildren.
“To Lindsey, I miss you more than I can even put into words,” his sister said as McMaster announced her appointment. “But I’m going to do this. I got it.”
McMaster said the two had spoken “in the wee hours of Sunday morning” after Graham’s death, and he asked her to serve.
“I had wondered what you would say, and I was humbled by your quickness to see the duty that you had to serve,” McMaster said. He added that President Donald Trump “thought it was a great idea” when he later told him of his pick. Trump announced his support for Graham to fill the seat earlier Monday.
The weekly Republican luncheon is generally a serious discussion of the week's agenda. But on Tuesday, Lindsey Graham's colleagues told stories and remembered his sense of humor while welcoming his sister into the fold.
“It's personal for us,” said South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican who sat next to Graham on the Senate floor. He said senators also tried to offer support for Darline Graham, “who has been put in a position of not only losing her closest family member, but then also being asked to step into this role."
Rounds said that Lindsey Graham, who was known for his quick wit, “was a character, and he was the guy that made everybody feel like you were one of his closest friends.”
Several of South Carolina's House members attended the swearing in, lining up in the back of the Senate chamber, as did prominent members of Trump's administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and special envoy Steve Witkoff. His son-in-law Jared Kushner was also there.
According to South Carolina law, a one-week filing period for a special primary election begins on the second Tuesday after the candidate’s death, or July 21.
The special primary election would be held on the second Tuesday after that filing period closes, or Aug. 11. Any necessary runoff would follow two weeks after that, or Aug. 25.
From that point, the new nominee would have just over two months to campaign for the general election on Nov. 3.
Several Republicans are potentially eyeing a run, including Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Republican Reps. Russell Fry, Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman.
Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard contributed to this report from Columbia, South Carolina.
Newly appointed U.S. interim Senator, Darline Graham Nordone, with South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, right, speaks to members of the press after being appointed to fill the vacancy created by the passing of her brother, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, at the statehouse Monday, July 13, 2026, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Billionaire Warren Buffett omitted Bill Gates ′ foundation from his annual donations this year after disclosures of the Microsoft co-founder’s ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He will donate about $6 billion to four foundations connected to his own family, but did not mention Gates in his announcement Tuesday.
Buffett also said in his statement that he wants all of his remaining Berkshire Hathaway stock worth more than $140 billion donated to charity by the end of 2034. Previously the plan was for his three children to distribute his remaining fortune within 10 years of the 95-year-old investor’s death.
“Of course, mortality is unpredictable, but my remaining shares will be donated to the four foundations one way or the other by December 31, 2034,” Buffett said in a statement. “The goal is to have the grants grow annually to each of the three foundations managed by each of my children and the annual grant to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation grow at a somewhat greater rate.”
Buffett did not immediately respond Tuesday to questions. CNBC said Buffett was scheduled to give the channel an exclusive interview on the topic Wednesday morning.
The Gates Foundation thanked Buffett for his gifts in a statement Tuesday and said the foundation remains in a strong financial position thanks to Gates' pledge to donate 99% of his remaining fortune to the charity, which plans to close in 2045 after distributing the money.
“The Gates Foundation is grateful to Warren Buffett for his decades of support for our work. His gifts, totaling more than $47 billion, have helped us expand and deliver on the foundation’s mission to improve health and opportunity for people around the world,” the charity said in its statement.
The majority of Buffett’s charitable gifts — worth more than $61 billion — have gone to the Gates Foundation since he announced the plan to give away his fortune in 2006. He has been giving blocks of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Gates Foundation and the four foundations run by his three children regularly.
Buffett plans to give about $4.5 billion in stock to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation this year and about $500 million in shares each to the Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation and Novo Foundation, which are run by his children.
So the total amount of donations announced Tuesday is similar to the roughly $6 billion in donations he made last summer, with Buffett’s family foundations getting significantly more than in previous years that would seem to account for the money that would have gone to the Gates Foundation.
Gates denies any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and has not been accused of any wrongdoing. He said he only met with Epstein because he thought it might help him raise money for charitable causes.
Epstein, who was accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, was found dead at the Manhattan federal lockup in August 2019 and his death was later ruled a suicide by New York City’s medical examiner.
Buffett already said in 2024 that he planned to cut off donations to the Gates Foundation after his death and let his three children decide how to distribute the rest of his fortune. The decision he announced Tuesday will accelerate that plan.
Buffett and Gates used to be exceptionally close friends who talked often, played bridge online and even took vacations together. Gates also served on the board of Buffett’s conglomerate for years and the legendary investor sat on the board of the Gates Foundation. But Buffett told CNBC in March that he hadn’t talked to Gates for months since before the Epstein files were released. The disclosures began in December 2025 and continued into this year.
In the past, Buffett stood up for Gates. Three years ago, Buffett cut off a man who was presenting a resolution at the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting after he questioned Gates’ character because of his ties with Epstein. Peter Flaherty was arrested that day for trespassing even though he had been approved to make the presentation beforehand. The charge was later dropped, but the incident led to a lawsuit, which is still pending in the courts.
Buffett said to CNBC “it is astounding to me that anybody could be that successful as a con person” but Epstein found a way to exploit the weaknesses of others. Buffett would not discuss Gates’ involvement, but said he doesn’t want to be involved with anything that could be investigated later.
Gates discussed his ties to Epstein with the staff of his foundation recently. Gates appears multiple times in the Justice Department’s release of documents connected to its investigation of the late financier. The Justice Department’s files include email correspondence between Gates and Epstein about philanthropic projects, calendar entries documenting dates they got together, and photos of Gates at events the two men attended.
The foundation announced that it hired someone in March to assess the foundation’s past engagement with Epstein and review its policies to vet any future philanthropic partnerships. Gates and the rest of the foundation’s board expect to get an update on that investigation sometime this summer.
Buffett told CNBC that he’s amazed at how many wealthy and powerful people have been caught up in the Epstein scandal.
“I mean, it, here you had a guy that was a convicted guy, a sensational con man, and the percentage of people that he knocked off,” Buffett said. “I mean, whether it was, he found their weakness. It might have been sex. It might be power, it might be, whatever it might be. And I don’t see how anybody could have pulled that off.”
Buffett said he’s glad Epstein never came to Omaha, where he has lived for more than six decades. Buffett is regarded by many as the world’s greatest investor who built up Berkshire over the years by buying insurance companies like Geico, major utilities, manufacturers and well-known brands like Dairy Queen and the BNSF railroad.
Buffett stepped down as Berkshire CEO in January after 60 years of leading the company, but he remains as chairman and the largest shareholder. Greg Abel is now CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
FILE - Microsoft co-founder and chairman Bill Gates, left, and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. billionaire Warren Buffett laugh while answering questions Aug 5, 2006, before the Nebraska Regional Bridge tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa. (AP Photo/Dave Weaver, File)
FILE - Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, leaves after a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, on Capitol Hill, June 10, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
FILE - Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks during a game of bridge following the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting May 5, 2019, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)
