Congress gave the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) its highest honor Friday, assembling under the Capitol Rotunda to pay final respects in front of his flag-draped casket as it lay in state, an occasion usually reserved for presidents.
McCain was often described as a maverick and bucked his party’s leadership many times, most notably last year when he sank their proposal to repeal ObamaCare. But in their final remembrances, GOP leaders praised his devotion to public service and his principles.
{mosads}The solemn pomp of the ceremony and the political luminaries who attended left no doubt that McCain, a harsh critic of President Trump, was one of the brightest stars of the Republican Party and a lawmaker who earned the deep respect of its leaders and rank-and-file members.
McCain’s casket was carried into the Capitol by an honor guard of soldiers, sailors and Marines, and a cordon of Capitol Police in ceremonial dress stood guard throughout the prayers and remarks.
“He treated every issue with the intensity the people’s business deserves,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told the gathering, which included former President Nixon’s Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Hollywood stars Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, and former senators such as John Warner (R-Va.) and Connie Mack III (R-Fla.).
“He would fight tooth and nail for his vision of the common good,” McConnell added. “Depending on the issue, you knew John would either be your staunchest ally or your most stubborn opponent.”
McCain cast one of his most memorable votes in July of last year, only days after being diagnosed with the brain cancer that ultimately ended his life, when he gave a “thumbs down” on the Senate floor to the GOP plan to repeal ObamaCare. His was the decisive vote, and the measure failed 49-51.
McCain told reporters later that evening, “I thought it was the right thing to do.”
It was one of many times McCain clashed with members of his own party, a habit that often left his GOP colleagues feeling battered.
“I’ve long joked that his guards at the Hanoi Hilton probably needed group therapy after John was finished with them,” McConnell said Friday, referring to McCain’s 5 1/2 years of captivity during the Vietnam War. “Well, let’s just say there were times when some of his Senate colleagues were tempted to form a support group of our own.”
McCain and McConnell battled for years over campaign finance reform, McCain’s signature issue in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
McCain pushed the landmark Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act through the Senate in 2001 and 2002, despite McConnell’s opposition, and McConnell later became the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging its constitutionality.
But McConnell noted Friday that McCain’s charisma helped heal any old wounds, and that the senator’s colleagues always knew that he was motivated by principle, even if he would sometimes sling personal barbs to get his way.
“At any moment, he might be preparing an eloquent reflection on human liberty … or a devastating joke served up with his signature cackle and that John McCain glint in his eye,” McConnell recalled.
“He had America’s fighting spirit, our noble idealism, our solemn patriotism, and our slightly irreverent streak — all rolled into one,” he added. “I will miss a dear friend whose smile reminded us that service is a privilege.”
McCain’s family, including his 106-year-old mother Roberta McCain and his daughter Meghan McCain, sat in the front row behind McConnell and the other speakers.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), McCain’s best friend in Congress, sat with McCain’s family directly behind the podium, instead of in the section reserved for current and former senators. Former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who was a member of the self-described “three amigos” along with McCain and Graham, also sat with friends and family.
A who’s who of other past and present political luminaries also attended, including Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, White House chief of staff John Kelly, national security adviser John Bolton, former Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), former Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Utah Senate candidate Mitt Romney (R).
But a few of the most prominent congressional conservatives were missing, such as Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), whom McCain famously called “wacko birds” in 2013.
The most recent senator to lie in state under the rotunda was Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), the former chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, a World War II veteran and a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, in 2012.
Former Presidents Reagan and Ford lay in state in 2004 and 2007, respectively.
The late Rev. Billy Graham lay “in honor” under the rotunda earlier this year, as the designation “in state” is reserved for those who have served in government.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who spoke after McConnell, praised McCain as a patriot and a man of conviction “who made an enormous difference in the lives of countless people.”
The Wisconsin Republican, who spearheaded last year’s effort to repeal ObamaCare, said he also had his heated moments with McCain.
“I myself was — from time to time — on the receiving end of John’s distinct brand of candor,” he said.
But he said he now regards those scrapes as fond memories, adding that he was “happily” the recipient of any verbal abuse McCain dished out.
“I remember thinking more than once, ‘Yeah, he really does talk like a sailor,’ ” Ryan quipped.
Vice President Pence, who laid a wreath of flowers next to McCain’s casket representing the executive branch, highlighted areas where the maverick senator agreed with the administration.
“In my years in Congress, and as vice president, we didn’t always agree either, and he almost always noticed,” Pence said. “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.”
McCain’s rocky relationship with Trump, however, only worsened in the past year, particularly after the senator voted down the president’s health-care proposal last summer.
Trump mocked McCain recently at a rally in Nevada, where he once again brought up McCain’s famous “no” vote.
McCain, in turn, stepped up his criticism of Trump this summer, blasting Trump’s remarks during a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki as “disgraceful” and calling the entire summit a “tragic mistake.”
Feelings between them were sour enough that McCain requested that Trump not attend his funeral. Trump last week momentarily balked at lowering the flag to half staff at federal facilities to honor McCain.
But the president later sought to make peace.
“As President Trump said yesterday, we respect his service to the country,” Pence noted. “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.”
McConnell and Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) then laid a wreath at McCain’s casket marking the respect of the Senate. Ryan and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) laid a wreath commemorating the feelings of the House.