Darline Graham Nordone, sister of the late Lindsey Graham, is sworn in as South Carolina's first woman senator

Darline Graham Nordone was sworn in Tuesday as a United States senator from South Carolina, taking the seat left vacant by the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham. She recited the oath on the Senate floor at about 2:30 p.m. Eastern and became the first woman to represent South Carolina in the Senate.

Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, announced the appointment Monday. President Donald Trump had publicly recommended Nordone for the seat before McMaster named her. The swearing-in returned the chamber to a 53-47 Republican majority after Graham's death had left the seat empty.

What the appointment covers

Nordone fills the remainder of Graham's term, which runs through the end of the 119th Congress on January 3, 2027. She was not elected to the seat and, by her own account and the governor's, is serving on an interim basis.

Graham was up for reelection this year and had already secured the Republican nomination before he died. Under South Carolina law, the party now holds a special primary to choose a replacement nominee for the November general election ballot. Whoever wins that election in November is sworn in when the new Congress convenes in January, ending Nordone's tenure.

The Hill reported that it is the first time in Senate history that a sibling has been sworn in to succeed a senator who died in office.

Her first vote

Hours after taking the oath, Nordone cast her first vote as a senator on the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. The motion to advance the bill failed on a 50-46 cloture vote, short of the 60 votes needed to proceed. BCN reported the same tally earlier Tuesday, with Senate Democrats blocking the measure.

Who she is

Nordone, 62, has not previously held elected office. She heads the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, a state agency that provides vocational and independent-living services to residents who are blind or have low vision. Most of her public record before the appointment consists of statements about her brother rather than her own political positions, according to reporting by The Washington Post.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune wrote that he was "honored" to welcome her to the Senate.

The vacancy

Graham, a Republican who represented South Carolina in the Senate since 2003, died Saturday at 71. His office described the cause at the time as a brief and sudden illness; several outlets later reported a preliminary finding of an aortic rupture. His death created the vacancy McMaster filled with Monday's appointment.