John McCain: Nation's political leaders pay tribute as senator lies in state at U.S. Capitol
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After a memorial service in Arizona on Thursday, the late senator arrives in Washington D.C. where his life will be honored in the nation’s capital.
USA TODAY
WASHINGTON – An astounding array of the nation’s political, military, diplomatic and cultural leaders gathered to pay tribute to the late Sen. John McCain Friday as he lay in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.
McCain’s casket, covered by an American flag, was carried up the marble steps of the Capitol by somber members of the U.S. armed forces as a sudden downpour erupted. It was placed on the simple pine catafalque hastily constructed in 1865 to hold the body of Abraham Lincoln.
At that moment, the 81-year-old senator became only the 31st person to lie in state over 166 years.
Vice President Mike Pence – standing in for the president with whom McCain frequently feuded, Donald Trump – was to deliver one of three eulogies. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan were to speak.
In a show of bipartisanship sought by McCain, who was deeply involved in the memorial planning, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer was to participate in the presentation of the official Senate wreath.Â
Many top administration officials were in attendance, including White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and several members of the Cabinet. Conspicuously missing was Trump, who was not invited.
The list of speakers will be expanded Saturday, when the two presidents who blocked McCain from reaching the Oval Office, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, honor McCain at Washington National Cathedral. Other speakers there will include former secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former senator Joe Lieberman and Meghan McCain, the senator’s daughter.
A sense of history was palpable even before McCain’s remains arrived inside the Capitol. Sen. Patrick Leahy, the longest-serving senator who arrived during the Ford administration, placed his hand on the black-clothed catafalque.
Here are further details of the weekend’s events honoring the late senator.Â
Saturday
On Saturday at 8:30 a.m., a motorcade will carry the senator’s body from the U.S. Capitol to Washington National Cathedral.
On the way, the procession will pause at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, where Cindy McCain will lay a ceremonial wreath honoring those who died during the Vietnam War. The public is welcome to line the procession route along Constitution Avenue to pay respects to the senator.Â
An invitation-only national memorial service celebrating the senator’s life will begin at 10 a.m. at Washington National Cathedral.Â
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The body of Sen. John McCain arrives for a memorial service at North Phoenix Baptist Church on Aug. 30, 2018.
Arizona Republic
McCain’s daughter Meghan will give a tribute and daughter Sidney will give a reading. McCain’s son, Jimmy, will read the poem “The Requiem.”
McCain’s close friend, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., will read from the gospels.Â
Bush was McCain’s rival in the 2000 presidential race. The senator withdrew after losing a series of primaries to Bush on Super Tuesday. McCain later supported his former adversary.
As the GOP nominee in 2008, McCain lost to Obama. In McCain’s concession speech at the Arizona Biltmore, he graciously spoke of the significance of Obama’s win as the first African-American to hold the presidency.
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In the shadows of the Capitol, life goes on as Arizonans pay tribute to John McCain