Live Updates
Our live coverage of Sen. John McCain’s week of memorials has concluded. For more on McCain’s life and impact, visit CNN Politics.
The motorcade carrying Sen. John McCain’s casket just departed the National Cathedral to applause from people who had lined the streets outside.
Underlining the politics of the moment, and point of some of the tributes offered inside, McCain’s hearse passed one person who held a sign hailing McCain as a “POW hero” and President Trump a “coward.”
Tomorrow, a private service will take place at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and then McCain’s body will be laid to rest in the US Naval Academy Cemetery.
This follows a week of memorials from Phoenix to Washington, D.C.
The American opera singer Renee Fleming, who told CNN she was “so incredibly touched” to get the request to sing at Sen. John McCain’s memorial, just delivered a powerfully emotional rendition of “Danny Boy.”
His daughter Meghan and wife Cindy were both clearly moved, looking on with tears in their eyes, as Fleming sang the lyrics:
“Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so
But when you come, and all the flowers are dying
If I am dead, as dead I well may be
You’ll come and find the place where I am lying
And kneel and say an ‘Ave’ there for me.”
Fleming told us of the song: “It’s so beautiful, and ‘my dreams will warm and sweeter be.’ It’s an incredibly beautiful lyric. And there’s a lot of people who say it’s their favorite song and it never fails to make them weep.”
Watch the moment:
The next portion of Sen. John McCain’s memorial service will be more traditional, as friends and family read from the bible, the choir sings hymns, and members of the clergy offer prayers.
The American opera singer Renee Fleming will sing “Danny Boy,” as per Sen. John McCain’s direct request.
Former President Barack Obama spoke of the present moment, where “so much of our politics, our public life, our public discourse can seem small and mean and petty. Trafficking in bombast and insult. Phony controversies and manufactured outrage. It’s a politics that pretends to be brave and tough, but in fact is born of fear.”
McCain, Obama said, “called on us to be bigger than that. He called on us to be better than that.”
Obama added: “What better way to honor John McCain’s life of service than as best we can follow his example to prove that the willingness to get in the arena and fight for this country is not reserved for the few, it is open to all of us, and in fact it is demanded of all of us as citizens of this great republic.”
Concluding his remarks, Obama added, “That’s perhaps how we honor him best, by recognizing that there are some things bigger than party or ambition or money or fame or power, that there are some things that are worth risking everything for. Principles that are eternal. Truths that are abiding.”
“At his best,” Obama said, “John showed us what that means. For that, we are all deeply in his debt.”
The former president walked out from behind the podium and into the open arms of Cindy McCain, and the two briefly embraced as she appeared to thank him for his remarks.
President Obama, who defeated Sen. John McCain in the 2008 presidential election, said he and President Bush were “among the fortunate few who competed against John at the highest levels of politics” and said, like Bush, that McCain made him better.
Speaking of the day McCain asked he speak at his memorial, Obama said it was “a precious and singular honor” and that when McCain called with the request, “I’ll admit sadness and also a certain surprise.”
But Obama also realized how well it captured some of John’s essential qualities: Unpredictability. Contrarianism. Non-conformity.
“It also showed John’s disdain for self-pity. He had been to hell and back and yet somehow never lost his energy or his optimism or his zest for life,” Obama said.
President George W. Bush said whatever rivalry he had with Sen. John McCain “melted away” as they forged a friendship.
“Back in the day, he could frustrate me. And I know he’d say the same thing about me. But he also made me better,” Bush said delivering the eulogy for his former 2000 Republican primary rival.
Bush recalled how he and McCain spoke of that “intense period like football players, remembering a big game.”
“In the process rivalry melted away,” Bush told the crowd of mourners gathered at the National Cathedral. “In the end, I got to enjoy one of life’s great gifts, the friendship of John McCain. And I’ll miss it.”
“John was above all a man with a code. He lived by a set of public virtues that brought strength and purpose to his life and to his country,” Bush said, adding that McCain was “honest no matter whom it offended.
“Presidents were not spared. He was honorable. Always recognizing that his opponents were still patriots and human beings.”
Watch:
One figure who was notably absent from Saturday’s event: President Donald Trump, with whom McCain frequently feuded and whom he did not want to attend his memorial services.
Instead, Trump is visiting one of his golf courses in Sterling, Virginia, and has tweeted throughout this morning’s service about unrelated topics, including trade negotiations with Canada.
The White House has not said what the President will do there, including whether he plans to tune into any of Sen. McCain’s memorial service.
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger gave his tribute at Sen. John McCain’s service, and said that the US “has had the good fortune, that, at times of national trial, a few great personalities have emerged” and “John McCain was one of those gifts of destiny.”
Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Democrat-turned-Independent, said that in 2008 John McCain “had a far out idea of asking a Democrat to be his running mate”///:/// him.
Lieberman said: “When he first talked to me about it, I said, ‘You know, John, I’m really honored, but I don’t see how you can do it. Even though I won my last election as an independent, I’m still a registered Democrat.’” McCain’s was “direct and really ennobling,” Lieberman said.
“That’s the point, Joe,” McCain told him. “You’re a Democrat, I’m a Republican. We could give our country the bipartisan leadership it needs for a change.”
Ultimately, McCain chose Sarah Palin, and the rest is history.
The prospect of a Lieberman VP pick raised concerns among conservatives, CNN reported at the time.
Lieberman, an independent senator who was the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee, had been a vocal supporter of the war in Iraq, but he backed abortion rights.
Conservative activists feared at the time that if McCain picked him, it could drive away social conservatives who were already uneasy about his nomination.
Sen. Joe Lieberman, John McCain’s longtime friend who was nearly a former running mate, said speaking today was one of the greatest honors of his life.
He spoke of hearing McCain tell people that there was a “special satisfaction that comes from serving a cause greater than yourself,” and that it was a creed he lived by.
“The greater cause to which he devoted his life was America, not so much the country defined by its borders, but the America of our founding values, freedom, human rights, opportunity, democracy, and equal justice under law,” Lieberman said.
“In John’s life, he nobly served and advanced these American values, and remarkably his death seems to have reminded the American people that these values are what make us a great nation,” he added. “Not the tribal partisanship, personal attack politics that have recently characterized our life.”
The week of memorials celebrating McCain’s life, Lieberman said, has lifted the country “above all that.”
Meghan McCain, speaking at her father’s memorial ceremony in Washington, D.C.’s National Cathedral, gave a forceful rebuke to the rhetoric coming out of the White House just a few miles away, defining the America of John McCain as one that is generous and welcoming, modest yet strong – and already great.
“The America of John McCain is, yes, the America of Vietnam, fighting the fight, even in the most grim circumstances, even in the most distant, hostile corner of the world, standing for the life and liberty of other peoples in other lands,” McCain said.
“The America of John McCain is generous and welcoming and bold. She’s resourceful, confident, secure. She meets her responsibilities. She speaks quietly because she’s strong. America does not boast because she has no need to. The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great.”
The bipartisan crowd of dignitaries applauded.
Watch the powerful moment:
Meghan McCain, speaking through tears at her father’s memorial service at Washington, D.C.’s National Cathedral, said that the family, friends, as well as current and former leaders were gathered there to “mourn the passing of American greatness, the real thing, not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice, those that live lives of comfort and privilege while he suffered and served.”
“He was a great fire who burned bright,” McCain continued, adding that she and her family had heard from many in the past several days who “stood in the warmth and light of his fire and found it illuminated what’s best about them.”
“We are grateful to them because they’re grateful to him,” she said.
And to his critics: “A few have resented that fire, for the light it cast upon them for the truth it revealed about their character. But my father never cared what they thought, and even that small number still have the opportunity as long as they draw breath to live up to the example of John McCain.”
Watch:
“I am here before you today saying the words I have never wanted to say, giving the speech, I have never wanted to give, feeling the loss I have never wanted to feel,” she said at its opening. “My father is gone.”
Friends, family and former presidents gathered this morning at Washington National Cathedral to honor the life of the late Sen. John McCain. The ceremony is beginning now.
Here are the moments to expect:
The three former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, joined by former first ladies Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton (a former senator, secretary of state, and Democratic nominee for president herself), are sitting in the first pew as the ceremony begins.
Former vice presidents Al Gore and Dick Cheney are there, too.
Bush and Obama will give remarks.
Sen. John McCain arrived at National Cathedral this morning just before 9:45 a.m. ET, and his casket was removed from the hearse and walked up the steps by honor guard members as his family solemnly looked on. Their hands were over their hearts.
Sen. John McCain’s staff provided the following list of notable attendees expected to attend this morning’s service. It includes a number of current and former US leaders, current and foreign leaders, and at least seven POWs:
Current and Former U.S. Leaders:
Current and Former Foreign Leaders:
POWs:
Cindy McCain laid a wreath at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial this morning in honor of her late husband, Sen. John McCain. McCain, and other members of the McCain family, are making their way to the National Cathedral for the funeral service now.
Watch:
Friends, family and former presidents will gather at Washington National Cathedral this morning to honor the life of the late Sen. John McCain.
The ceremony, which begins at 10 a.m. ET, will feature tributes from Republican former President George W. Bush, who prevailed over McCain in the race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, and Democratic former President Barack Obama, who ran against McCain in the 2008 presidential election and won.
The remarks from former Democratic and Republican presidents who were once rivals to McCain will send an unmistakable message of unity and bipartisanship at a time when Washington is deeply divided.
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Meghan McCain, one of the late senator’s daughters, are also on the list of those slated to speak at Saturday’s memorial service.
Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden, who delivered an emotional eulogy for McCain at a memorial service in Arizona on Thursday, will serve as a pallbearer on Saturday.
Actor Warren Beatty, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, former Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and former chief of staff to McCain Mark Salter will also serve as pallbearers, among others.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close friend of McCain’s, and McCain’s children Jimmy and Sidney McCain will take part in the ceremony as well.
A memorial service for the late Sen. John McCain will be held Saturday at the National Cathedral in Washington.
While traveling from the US Capitol to the National Cathedral, the motorcade will stop at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, where McCain’s wife, Cindy McCain, will lay a wreath to honor those who died in the war.
The memorial service at the cathedral will begin at 10 a.m. Scheduled speakers include:
Meghan McCain posted a picture with Sen. Lindsey Graham and former Sen. Joe Lieberman.
Both men had been longtime friends of her father. It appears the picture was taken today, as Meghan’s outfit and hair appear to be similar to what she had on at the Capitol today.
Security is now letting members of the public inside the US Capitol to say their final goodbyes to the late Sen. John McCain, who is lying in state.
They will be allowed to do so until 8 p.m. ET.
One of those visitors is Heidi Williams, who says she wants to pay tribute to a man who was bipartisan.
I just feel like today in this environment that it’s a great way to pay respect to a man who was a bipartisan you know I think as you read about him and learn about him that even if you didn’t believe in his politics that you could respect him as a man. He fought for this country, I think he fought for normal people. I feel that we are just in such turmoil right now that he’s one of the last and we hope that the young people come up and vote and change what’s going on right now in this country. And so I just wanted to come I’ve never done this before and so three girlfriends, we all came and decided that it was a pretty meaningful thing.
Sen. John McCain’s wife, Cindy McCain, is still on Capitol Hill, and she and Sen. Lindsey Graham will address the Senate staff.
Afterwards, Graham will escort McCain to the Senate Floor to visit her late husband’s desk.
One by one, McCain’s family and then his friends and colleagues approached the coffin to say goodbye.
Generations of men and women who had sparred with McCain in politics, but also been shaped by his philosophy of “country first,” stood for a brief moment of silence at the casket, which will now lie in state in the rotunda for the remainder of the day.
On Saturday, a memorial service will be held at the National Cathedral, where former Presidents Bush, a Republican, and Barack Obama, a Democrat, will speak.
The Capitol Memorial program is all protocol, with the exception of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
The two lawmakers participated in the wreath laying at Sen. John McCain’s ceremony in the US Capitol.
McCain expressly wanted Schumer, a Democrat, so he and McConnell jointly laid the Senate wreath.
As we showed you earlier, a storm broke out at the very moment Sen. John McCain’s casket was carried into the Capitol rotunda.
This is how that looked on radar.
Vice President Mike Pence said the late Sen. John McCain fought for what he believed in, even though they didn’t always see eye-to-eye on some key issues.
“For 35 years, John served in these very halls under this very dome. And he fought for what he believed in. In my years in congress and as vice president, we didn’t always agree either. And he almost always noticed. But his support for limited government, for tax reform and support for our armed forces surely left our nation more prosperous and more secure. And he will be missed. As President Trump said yesterday, we respect his service to the country.”
Pence then shared a message with the McCain’s family.
“And so let me say to all those gathered and his beloved family, on behalf of a grateful nation, we will ever remember that John McCain served his country and John McCain served his country honorably,” he said,
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, speaking at a ceremony at the US Capitol, said he’ll remember Sen. John McCain’s fighting spirit and dedication to the country.
“What stands out about John McCain is what he stood for,” Ryan said. “The rich blessings that only freedom can bestow. The sense of purpose that a battle joined can bring. The common humanity that burns in each of our hearts.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a man who at times fought on the opposite side of McCain on issues such as campaign finance, remembered him as a tough political opponent.
“He had America’s fighting spirit,” McConnell remembered. “I will miss a dear friend whose smile reminded us that service is a privilege.”
“We thank God for giving this country John McCain,” McConnell said.
Sen. John McCain’s ceremony at the US Capitol has officially begun.
It is opening with a prayer which honors McCain’s dedication to public service for placing himself directly in harm’s way during the Vietnam War, and for “speaking the truth as he understood it, even when it was not politically expedient to do so.”
Vice President Mike Pence, attending the ceremony today on behalf of the Trump administration, just greeted Sen. John McCain’s 106-year-old mother inside the rotunda.
The final decision for her to attend the ceremony on Capitol Hill was made today.
A military guard carried the late Sen. John McCain’s casket into the US Capitol this morning, as it rained in Washington, DC.
In a few moments: A ceremony will be held in the Rotunda at the Capitol, where McCain will lie in state.
Kellyanne Conway, special counselor to President Trump, was spotted on the second floor of the US Capitol Friday morning wearing a black dress.
Meanwhile, a crowd of former and current lawmakers have assembled outside the Senate Chamber as services for the late Sen. John McCain get underway.
Vice President Mike Pence is representing the administration at the Capitol Hill service and is expected to deliver remarks.
John McCain’s mother, Roberta McCain, is in the motorcade en route the Capitol, per a McCain aide
A final decision was made today whether she was up to coming but she is coming to the Capitol Hill ceremony.
Sen. John McCain’s week of remembrance continues today with the Senator lying in state at the US Capitol Rotunda.
Speakers at a ceremony there, including Vice President Mike Pence, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, will honor McCain in a series of remarks beginning at approximately 10:45 a.m. ET.
You can watch live in the video player above when it starts (refresh the page if you don’t see it).
The catafalque that was first used to hold the coffin of President Abraham Lincoln was placed in the Rotunda at the US Capitol, where Sen. John McCain will lie in state on Friday.
According to the architect of the Capitol, the catafalque is “a simple base of rough pine boards nailed together and covered with black cloth.”
The catafalque has been used 32 times since 1865, the most recently when it was moved to the US Supreme Court to hold the coffin of Justice Antonin Scalia.
Here’s what else is happening at the Capitol Rotunda:
John McCain’s close friends shared their memories and paid tribute to the late senator in Phoenix at his memorial service on Thursday, where mourners gathered to say their final goodbyes.
Here’s what happened during the service:
An aircraft carrying John McCain’s casket just departed for Washington, DC, where more memorial services will be held for the late senator in the nation’s capital and in Annapolis, Maryland.
McCain’s family watched as his casket was escorted to the C-32 military aircraft. Moments later, they boarded the aircraft, which is headed to Joint Base Andrews.
Watch the moment:
The late Sen. John McCain’s motorcade just left North Phoenix Baptist Church after his memorial service. The motorcade is now on its way to the airport.
McCain is due to leave Arizona for the last time around 3:30 p.m. ET. His body will be flown to Washington, DC, for more memorial services in the nation’s capital and in Annapolis, Maryland.
Sen. John McCain’s memorial service just concluded with brief remarks from Rev. Noe Garcia, the senior pastor at North Phoenix Baptist Church.
After Garcia read a portion of Meghan McCain’s heartfelt statement that was released Saturday – in which she wrote that her father was awakening in death “to something more glorious than anything on this Earth” – Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” began to play in the church.
McCain’s casket was carried out by the members of the Arizona National Guard, and his family followed close behind.
Watch the moment:
Vice President Joe Biden remembered the legacy of Sen. John McCain, saying it will “continue to inspire and challenge generations of leaders as they step forward.”
“You are a living legacy, not hyperbole,” Biden said, speaking to McCain’s family. “You are a living legacy and proof of John McCain’s success. Now John is going to take his rightful place in a long line of extraordinary leaders in this nation’s history. Who, in their time and in their way, stood for freedom and stood for liberty and have made the American story the most improbable and the most hopeful and most enduring story on Earth.”
“I know John said he hoped he played a small part in that story. John, you did much more than that, my friend. To paraphrase Shakespeare, we shall not see his like again,” Biden concluded.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, who served in the US Senate alongside John McCain, said the late senator mourned how bipartisanship had faded over the years.
Biden and McCain used to sit next to each other during long debates in the 1980’s and ’90s. In 1996, they were each told independently by their parties that their visible friendship didn’t look good.
“That’s when things began to change for the worse in America in the Senate. That’s when it changed,” Biden said.
The former vice president recalled how things used to be in the Senate — and lamented how attacks became more personal and partisan.
“It was always appropriate to challenge another senator’s judgment, but never appropriate to challenge their motive. When you challenge their motive, it’s impossible to get to go,” he said.
Biden’s remarks were similar to McCain’s speech on the Senate floor last summer, in which he begged his colleagues to restore the chamber to a spirit of compromise that had helped forge national greatness.
Speaking at John McCain’s memorial service, former Vice President Joe Biden spoke about the disease that took the lives of both McCain and his son Beau Biden.
“The disease that took John’s life took our mutual friend’s, Teddy, the exact same disease nine years ago, a couple days ago. And three years ago, it took my beautiful son Beau’s life,” Biden said.
He continued:
Biden later went on to express solidarity with the family mourning, saying experiencing a loss is, “like being sucked into a black hole inside your chest. It’s frightening.”
“But, I know something else, unfortunately, from experience, that there’s nothing anyone can say or do to ease the pain right now. But I pray, I pray you take some comfort knowing that because you shared John with all of us, your whole life, the world now shares with you in the ache of John’s death.”
Mourners are gathered right now at John McCain’s memorial service at North Phoenix Baptist Church, where McCain’s close friends are speaking about his legacy and sharing their memories of the late senator.
Here’s what it looks like inside the service:
Former Vice President Joe Biden, speaking to mourners, said his relationship with Sen. John McCain was deeper than just colleagues on Capitol Hill.
“The way I look at it, the way I thought about it was that I always thought of John as a brother,” Biden said. “We had a hell of a lot of family fights. We go back a long way.”
Biden met McCain while working as a young senator. The two traveled together, talked about politics and shared ambitions, he said.
“All politics is personal. It’s all about trust. I trusted John with my life and I would and I think he would trust me with his,” Biden said.
Watch more:
During the ceremony, Navajo flutist Jonah Littlesunday performed the hymn “Expression of Love.”
There are multiple musical performances planned during the service, including a bagpiper.
Arizona Cardinals player Larry Fitzgerald, Jr. paid tribute to his friend John McCain by highlighting their differences — and pointing out that the late senator looked past them.
“Many people might wonder what a young African-American kid from Minnesota and a highly decorated Vietnam War hero-turned-United States senator might have in common. Well, I thought of a few: I’m black. He was white. I’m young. He wasn’t so young. He lived with physical limitations brought on by war. I’m a professional athlete. He ran for President. I run out of bounds.”
So why were they friends? “That’s just who he is,” Fitzgerald said.
He continued: “He didn’t judge individuals based on the color of their skin, their gender, their backgrounds, their political affiliations, or their bank accounts. He evaluated them on the merits of their character and the contents of their hearts.”
Watch the moment:
John McCain’s former chief of staff Grant Woods remembered McCain and time spent on elections in his home state of Arizona.
Woods went on to share a more lighthearted story about the first time McCain ran for Senate. He said there was only one “little blip” in his election history in the state.
“He called me on the phone and goes, ‘Well, boy, I think I might have screwed up,’” Woods remembered.
Woods said he asked what McCain meant.
McCain said he had been talking to students and the University of Arizona about how most politicians would visit retirement homes instead of universities.
“He said, well, ‘It’s because you guys don’t vote. Those other dudes vote, like, 100%, you know. So you want people to come down here? You need to vote like they vote out at ‘Seizure World,’” Woods recalled.
A retirement community in the area was named “Leisure World,” Woods added.
“They weren’t real happy with their new nickname out there,” Woods joked.
After admitting he messed up, Woods said the two visited a retirement community.
“And so we went out. I remember we drove in, and there was about a 90-year-old guy in a golf cart right there, and he was giving us the finger. Little did he know we both said ‘That’s great.’ We loved that. And John was like, ‘Hey, good to see you,’” Woods said.
Watch more:
At the start of the late Sen. John McCain’s funeral, the Brophy Student Ensemble sang “Amazing Grace.”
They’ll perform once more during the service, with the song “Arizona.” A bagpiper and a flutist are also set to perform.
Watch the moment:
Rev. Noe Garcia, the senior pastor at North Phoenix Baptist Church, started Sen. John McCain’s memorial service with brief remarks. After that, the Brophy Student Ensemble sang “Amazing Grace.”
Here’s the schedule for the rest of the service:
The late Sen. John McCain family stood just feet from his memorial service and watched solemnly as members of the Arizona National Guard carried his casket into the North Phoenix Baptist Church.
Watch the moment:
Jannah Scott arrived early Thursday to the North Phoenix Baptist Church to remember the life of Sen. John McCain at his memorial service.
Scott recalled her most profound memory of McCain – from Oct. 10, 2008 – when he cut off a supporter at a town hall event who said she could not trust Obama because she thought he was an Arab, amid conspiracy theories suggesting that the Democrat had not been not born in America.
“No ma’am,” McCain interrupted. “He’s a decent family man, a citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that’s what this campaign is all about.”
Scott, who is the executive director of the Arizona Faith Network, said McCain’s actions that day stood out.
“In doing so he also stood up or Muslims in America who were being greatly disparaged in that time. He could have capitalized on untruth as so many and politics do but he chose to stand for truth and for that that I always honor life and his legacy.”
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is not invited to any of the memorial services for her former running mate, Arizona Sen. John McCain, a source tells CNN.
Palin was rocketed onto the national stage in the summer of 2008 after McCain seemingly picked her out of obscurity to be his running mate in the presidential race he would eventually lose to Barack Obama.
A source close to the Palin family said: “Out of respect for Sen. McCain and his family we have nothing to add at this point. The Palin family will always cherish their friendship with the McCains and hold those memories dear.”
Palin mourned McCain in a tweet Saturday night after his death, calling him an “American original” who “inspired others to serve something greater than self.”
The late Sen. John McCain’s motorcade is on its way to the church for his memorial service.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is set to speak at the ceremony, and will be joined at North Phoenix Baptist Church by McCain’s family and friends.
The service is scheduled to start around 1 p.m. ET. Afterward, McCain’s body will be flown to Washington, DC, for more memorials and ceremonies in the nation’s capital and Maryland.
Watch:
Nearly a quarter of the Senate will be at John McCain’s service in Phoenix today.
Twenty-four senators — 14 Republicans and 10 Democrats — will attend the memorial service at North Phoenix Baptist Church.
They are…
Other current and former lawmakers will also be at the service, including four former senators and former Vice President Joe Biden.
Former Vice President Joe Biden will speak at the funeral service for the late senator in Arizona on Thursday, an aide for Sen. John McCain confirmed.
The two were longtime friends despite serving on different sides of the aisle in the Senate and the McCain family said Biden — whose son Beau suffered from the same type of brain cancer — had been a source of support during McCain’s illness.
McCain also asked his former rivals, Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, to give eulogies, people close to both former presidents and a source close to the senator told CNN earlier this year.
Roberta McCain, John McCain’s mother, is expected to attend the services for her son at the US Capitol, the National Cathedral and the Naval Academy, according to McCain aides.
The late senator will arrive in Washington, DC, tonight, following memorial services in Phoenix, Arizona. He will lie in state at the US Capitol on Friday, and on Saturday, a mass of mourners will gather at the National Cathedral for his memorial service.
On Sunday, a private memorial service will be held at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Afterward, the Vietnam War veteran will be buried at the academy’s cemetery next to his longtime friend and Naval Academy classmate, Adm. Chuck Larson.
Sen. John McCain was honored at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix yesterday.
Today, the senator will be moved by motorcade to North Phoenix Baptist Church for a memorial service celebrating his life and legacy. The service will begin at 1 p.m. ET.
According to a statement, McCain’s “family, friends, along with national, state, local and tribal officials, and business leaders from across the state of Arizona have been invited to attend the service.”
Afterward, McCain’s body will depart from Arizona and be flown to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Upon arrival, McCain will be received by armed forces body bearers.
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald described his friend Sen. John McCain Wednesday as compassionate, inspirational and selfless.
Fitzgerald said he was blown away by McCain’s wit and humor. He hopes to impart the lessons he learned from McCain to his two young sons.
“There is a lot of lessons that I could talk about that I want to teach my sons. But just his compassion for his fellow man, the sacrifices he is willing to make. And it’s bigger than one individual. And I think I really learned that from him, you know. The service that he provided. I know as a senator, obviously as a naval pilot, these are selfless acts. They’re about people that you don’t know, serving people that you don’t know. And I think that’s one of the greatest things I’ve learned from him that I would hope to pass on.”
Fitzgerald will be paying tribute to McCain tomorrow at the late senator’s memorial service.
“You know, we had a strong relationship, but there are so many people he has come in touch with over the last 80 years,” he said. “Anybody that he wanted would have been honored to do it. And for him to ask me, it means a great deal to me, one of the greatest honors of my life.”
Sen. John McCain made clear he did not want President Trump to attend his funeral service.
Instead, he chose former Presidents George W. Bush, a Republican, and Barack Obama, a Democrat, to deliver eulogies for him.
Vice President Mike Pence is expected to represent the White House at McCain’s funeral service.
It’s a final fracture on the tense Trump-McCain relationship: Early in his presidential bid, Trump — who received five deferments to avoid military service in Vietnam — infamously maintained that McCain was not a war hero because he had been captured. He never apologized or walked-back his comments, despite the fact that McCain was imprisoned and tortured in Vietnam for more than five years.
During the time he remained active in the Senate, McCain expressed deep misgivings about Trump’s job as President, criticizing his handling of world affairs and the example he has set for the country.
Following McCain’s death, Trump did not immediately offer a statement praising McCain’s life and career and repeatedly ignored questions about the late senator. He finally offered a brief statement and some prepared remarks late Monday — two full days after McCain’s death.
Watch more about McCain’s decision not to invite Trump to his funeral:
John Goodie, a former Mesa High School security guard and football coach, arrived two hours early Wednesday carrying an American flag to remember the man who once sought him out in the most unexpected of encounters.
Goodie, who lives in Gilbert, Arizona, met Sen. John McCain in 1996 while working as a security guard at Mesa High School.
“He said I just want to thank you for your efforts on the Martin Luther King holiday,” Goodie recalled, noting that he helped lead the drive to honor King in Arizona.
“Although we are on different sides of the political spectrum,” McCain told him, “I just wanted you to know that I admire your tireless efforts in getting the Martin Luther King holiday for the City of Mesa and the state of Arizona,” Goodie recalled.
In 1983, McCain voted against legislation to make King’s birthday a federal holiday – a position he would later regret. After a 2008 visit to the Lorraine Motel where King was killed, McCain pointedly apologized for his 1983 vote: “We can all be a little late sometimes in doing the right thing.”
The Arizona senator, who apparently knew of Goodie’s efforts from coverage of the Arizona MLK debate on television and the newspapers, talked to Goodie for a few minutes about his football career, then shook his hand and said “Keep up the good work.”
Goodie, who explained that he went on later to be one of Barack Obama’s delegates at the Democratic National Convention, said he was “blown away” by the encounter.
Goodie said he most admired McCain’s “courageousness.”
“He didn’t hold back. When he made mistakes, he apologized – like the Confederate flag and a number of other things. That takes a special individual. That’s something I hope the history books will record. … That’s bravery. Even though in his politics, he turned against his President, he kept his head up all the way to the end.”
Before he died, John McCain wrote a farewell statement to his fellow Americans. His spokesman Rick Davis read the note at the news conference in Phoenix on Monday.
He urged the nation’s citizen to “not despair of our present difficulties” but instead asked Americans to “believe always in the promise and greatness of America.”
Here’s the full letter:
My fellow Americans, whom I have gratefully served for sixty years, and especially my fellow Arizonans,
Thank you for the privilege of serving you and for the rewarding life that service in uniform and in public office has allowed me to lead. I have tried to serve our country honorably. I have made mistakes, but I hope my love for America will be weighed favorably against them.
I have often observed that I am the luckiest person on earth. I feel that way even now as I prepare for the end of my life. I have loved my life, all of it. I have had experiences, adventures and friendships enough for ten satisfying lives, and I am so thankful. Like most people, I have regrets. But I would not trade a day of my life, in good or bad times, for the best day of anyone else’s.
I owe that satisfaction to the love of my family. No man ever had a more loving wife or children he was prouder of than I am of mine. And I owe it to America. To be connected to America’s causes – liberty, equal justice, respect for the dignity of all people – brings happiness more sublime than life’s fleeting pleasures. Our identities and sense of worth are not circumscribed but enlarged by serving good causes bigger than ourselves.
‘Fellow Americans’ – that association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world’s greatest republic, a nation of ideals, not blood and soil. We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We have acquired great wealth and power in the process.
We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.
We are three-hundred-and-twenty-five million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do.
Ten years ago, I had the privilege to concede defeat in the election for president. I want to end my farewell to you with the heartfelt faith in Americans that I felt so powerfully that evening.
I feel it powerfully still.
Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.
Farewell, fellow Americans. God bless you, and God bless America.
Mourners poured into the Arizona State Capitol Wednesday to say goodbye to the late Sen. John McCain.
McCain died last Saturday at the age of 81. The Arizona Republican is lying in state at the Arizona Capitol.
Here are a few photos from the public visitation:
Retired Rear Adm. John Kirby shared a letter Wednesday that the late Sen. John McCain had written to his son as he was getting ready to be commissioned into the US Navy.
Kirby, a former spokesperson for the State Department and current CNN analyst, said he had asked for McCain to offer some advice to his son that “he could hold on to as he goes out to lead sailors.”
In the letter, McCain, a formal naval aviator who was held as a prisoner of war during Vietnam, wrote that “God blessed me with the company heroes and it was all the difference in my life.”
Kirby told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that “nothing that I could have said to my son as a dad could be better than what Sen. McCain said to my son.”
When Navy ensign Sam Bongiorno opened his mailbox on Monday, he found an envelope he never expected to see: a letter from the late Sen. John McCain.
McCain had written to congratulate him on his recent graduation from the Merchant Marine Academy. The letter, written on Aug. 20, was mailed on Aug. 25 from McCain’s Phoenix office.
McCain died the same day.
“I graduated in June, but never expected to hear from him or his office due to his declining health,” he told CNN.
McCain — a Naval Academy graduate himself — frequently sent letters to new graduates of the service academies and young service members around the country.
Read the full letter:
Alexander Hurtado arrived early Wednesday to get a spot at the front of the line to visit Sen. John McCain’s casket at the Arizona State Capitol.
“It’s a sad and unfortunate event having to stand here,” he said.
Hurtado continued: “Yet it remains a moment that many people are proud to do; to respect a great man like John McCain. He represented the people with no account to party affiliations. More importantly, we the people. Our founding fathers would be proud to call him an American.”
He posted this photo from outside the Capitol:
Our photo team is collecting the most moving photos from the McCain memorials. Here are a few from the ceremony at the Arizona State Capitol earlier today.
Sen. John McCain is lying in state at the Arizona Capitol. His body arrived just before 1 p.m. ET.
Sen. Jeff Flake and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey spoke at a private ceremony at the Capitol’s rotunda. Now, members of the public are invited to pay their final respects to the late senator.
This is a rare honor. In the last 40 years, only two others have lain in state in that building: Arizona state Sen. Marilyn Jarrett in 2006, and Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens, who was a resident of Tucson, in 1980.
Sen. John McCain, who died on Saturday, would have turned 82 today.
McCain — who served for more than 30 years as a Republican senator from Arizona — will lie in state at the Arizona State Capitol today.
Gov. Doug Ducey noted the significance of his birthday when he announced the plans on Sunday.
Sen. Lindsey Graham said Wednesday that President Trump called him after he delivered an emotional farewell to Sen. John McCain on the Senate floor.
The President told the South Carolina Republican he “did right by his friend.”
“He called yesterday after my speech and he couldn’t have been nicer. He said, ‘That was very sad. I just want to let you know you did right by your friend.’ I said, ‘Thank you Mr. President.’” Graham told CNN, adding that the call from the President was “right out of the blue.”
Watch more:
The Senate has yet to make a decision about renaming the Russell Senate Building in honor of John McCain — but for a brief time on Wednesday, Google seemed to have made it for them.
Some Google Maps users who searched for the Russell building in Google Maps were instead shown a listing for the “McCain Senate Office Building,” and the map labeled the building as such.
The rest of the information — street address, website, ratings, phone number — remained the same.
Users who searched for information about the Russell Senate Office Building in Google search on desktop were given the option to see results about the “McCain Senate Office Building” as well.
By early afternoon, the error was fixed, and all queries for “McCain Senate Office Building” in Google maps were redirected to Russell. A Google spokesperson suggested the change was prompted by user suggestions.
Arizona governor Doug Ducey said John McCain demonstarted his love for the United States throughout his entire career.
“His talk of country first wasn’t simply a slogan on a yard sign,” he said in remarks at McCain’s ceremony. “It was what John McCain had done and demonstrated over and over and over again in the Navy, through Vietnam, and all the way to his favorite battles on the floor of the United States Senate.”
Watch more:
Sen. Jeff Flake delivered a benediction at a ceremony honoring the late Sen. John McCain at the Arizona State Capitol today.
Here’s a portion of the benediction:
“We ask for thy spirit to abide with us as we mourn his passing. We ask for an added measure of thy spirit to be with John’s sweet family who have sacrificed so much for so long in sharing their loving husband and father with us for these many years. Send the comforter that they might be reminded that joy cometh in the morning. Now as we go forward, let us remember thy humble servant with gladness and cheerfulness, to answer his call to summon the better angels of our nature, to see and appreciate the humanity in our opponents, to more freely forgive so that we might be forgiven of this we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”
Watch:
Former Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl described the late Sen. John McCain as a “strong force for America in the world.”
In his opening remarks, Kyl recalled McCain’s dedication to public service and his state of Arizona.
“John McCain believed in America. He believed in its people, its values and its institutions. He said he came to realization as a P.O.W. Vietnam. ‘I fell in love with my country,’ he said, ‘when I was a prisoner in someone else’s.’ He dedicated his life to serve his country.”
Watch:
Sen. John McCain’s wife Cindy McCain, their sons Jack and Jimmy, and daughter Meghan, stood together as Father Edward A. Reece read the invocation.
Watch:
Members of the Arizona National Guard casket team carried Sen. John McCain’s casket into the Arizona State Capitol, where he will lie in state today.
McCain’s widow, Cindy McCain, was escorted by her sons, Jack and Jimmy, to the rotunda in the Capitol.
Visitors will be able to pay their respect to the late senator.
Watch:
A motorcade carrying Sen. John McCain’s body is on its way to the Arizona Capitol building.
There will be a ceremony there honoring the late senator soon. After that, visitors will be able to pay their respects to McCain as he lies in state.
Watch:
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey tweeted a photo earlier this morning that shows a highway sign in Phoenix honoring the late Sen. John McCain.
It reads:
Country First
Rest In Peace
Senator McCain
The city is hosting a memorial for McCain today, who is being honored at a ceremony at the Arizona State Capitol, where he’ll also lie in state. A hearse carrying his casket is about to motorcade to the ceremony. Watch live in the player above.
John McCain — a naval bomber pilot, a prisoner of war, a giant of the Senate and a two-time presidential candidate — died Saturday. He was 81.
Five days of memorials and ceremonies are planned in Arizona, Washington DC and Maryland this week.
Today, McCain will lie in state at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix. Members of the public will be able to pay their respects to the late senator.
His body will be moved to North Phoenix Baptist Church for a memorial service tomorrow. On Thursday afternoon, McCain’s body will be flown from Arizona to Washington, DC.
On Friday morning, he’ll lie in state at the US Capitol, and on Saturday, a mass of mourners will gather at the National Cathedral in Washington to attend another memorial service for McCain.
And on Sunday, a private memorial service will take place at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. McCain will be laid to rest at the academy’s cemetery next to his longtime friend and Naval Academy classmate, Adm. Chuck Larson.
