Trump to meet Darline Graham at the White House today – US politics live

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Donald Trump is due to meet Darline Graham – the sister of the late Republican senator Lindsey Graham, was sworn in to temporarily fill his Senate seat – later today.

The president will meet with the new senator, just five days after her brother’s sudden death, in the Oval Office at 9.30am local time. Graham was appointed on Tuesday by Henry McMaster, South Carolina’s governor, to fill the remainder of her brother Lindsey’s current term.

Lindsey died on Saturday night, aged 71, after what his office called a “brief and sudden illness”. The chief medical examiner then preliminarily ruled on Sunday that he died of aortic dissection due to cardiovascular disease. With the backing of Donald Trump, Darline was swiftly appointed to serve the remaining months of his Senate term, which ends on 3 January.

In brief remarks at a press conference on Monday, Darline said it was an “honor” to replace her older brother – who became her legal guardian after their parents died when she was a girl – in the Senate. She said he had always been there for her and vowed: “Now, I will be there for him.”

“I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States,” she said. “I think this is what Lindsey would have wanted, and I plan to honor him in this way.”

At the time of his death, Graham was seeking a fifth Senate term, having won the Republican nomination only last month.The state GOP will hold a separate special election on 11 August to choose a new Senate nominee, who will face off against Democrat Annie Andrews in the November midterms.

The US president is scheduled to meet the El Salvador president Nayib Bukele at 11am local time, also in the Oval Office.

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