Skip to content
RollCall logo

Politics

Images From McCain Memorial at the National Cathedral Saturday

Former presidents, world leaders present and past and congressional colleagues pay tribute

Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks with Roberta McCain, the 106-year-old mother of Sen. John McCain, before services Saturday for the senator at the National Cathedral in Washington on Saturday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks with Roberta McCain, the 106-year-old mother of Sen. John McCain, before services Saturday for the senator at the National Cathedral in Washington on Saturday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
By Tom Williams
Posted September 1, 2018 at 11:29am

Former presidents, world leaders present and past, some of the other Americans like him held prisoner of war and much of Washington on Saturday celebrated the life of Sen. John McCain at a memorial service at the National Cathedral.

After a ceremony earlier this week back home in Arizona, McCain, who died Aug. 25 at age 81, was remembered in ceremonies in the nation’s capital for his service to the country, first as a Navy pilot who was a held as a POW in North Vietnam for five years, later as a congressman, and then as a longtime senator.

McCain’s casket was carried from the Capitol, where mourners filed past on Friday, to the National Cathedral before he is buried Tuesday at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Here are images from services Saturday at the National Cathedral: 

UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 1: Cindy McCain, wife of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., their daughter Meghan, sons Jimmy, a Marine, and Jack, a Naval officer, are seen as before the casket of the senator is brought into a ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral on September 1, 2018. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Cindy McCain and daughter Meghan, sons Jimmy, a Marine, and Jack, a Naval officer, are seen as wait for McCain’s casket to be carried into the National Cathedral. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 1: The casket of late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is brought is into the Washington National Cathedral for his funeral on September 1, 2018. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
McCain’s casket is carried into the Cathedral by members of the different branches of the armed services. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 1: Former U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at the funeral service for U.S. Sen. John McCain at the National Cathedral on September 1, 2018 in Washington, DC. The late senator died August 25 at the age of 81 after a long battle with brain cancer. McCain will be buried at his final resting place at the U.S. Naval Academy. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Former President Barack Obama pays tribute to his 2008 presidential opponent: “He made us better presidents. Just as he made the Senate better. Just as he made this country better.” (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 1: Former U.S. President George W. Bush (R) leaves the podium after speaking during the funeral service for U.S. Sen. John McCain at the National Cathedral on September 1, 2018 in Washington, DC. The late senator died August 25 at the age of 81 after a long battle with brain cancer. McCain will be buried at his final resting place at the U.S. Naval Academy. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Former President George W. Bush, who fought an ugly campaign with McCain for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination, said of his former rival “In the end, I got to enjoy one of life’s great gifts: the friendship of John McCain. And I’ll miss him.” (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

In the end, I got to enjoy one of life’s great gifts: the friendship of John McCain. And I’ll miss him

UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 1: Former Vice President A Gore arrives for the funeral of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., at the Washington National Cathedral on September 1, 2018. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Former Vice President A Gore, who served in the Senate with McCain before his selection as former President Bill Clinton’s running mate, greets other guests before Saturday’s service. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 1: Meghan McCain delivers a eulogy during the funeral service for U.S. Sen. John McCain at the National Cathedral on September 1, 2018 in Washington, DC. The late senator died August 25 at the age of 81 after a long battle with brain cancer. McCain will be buried at his final resting place at the U.S. Naval Academy. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Meghan McCain remembered her father’s love and made clear how she — and her father — felt about President Donald Trump in her eulogy. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 1: Mark Mckinnon, right, and Paul Wolfowitz, former deputy secretary of defense, arrive for the funeral of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., at the Washington National Cathedral on September 1, 2018. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Political strategist Mark Mckinnon, center, who advised McCain’s campaign for the 2008 GOP nomination, and Paul Wolfowitz, former deputy secretary of defense, arrive for the service. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 1: Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, arrive for the funeral of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., at the Washington National Cathedral on September 1, 2018. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the GOP’s 2012 presidential nominee and current Senate candidate, arrives with his wife Ann on Saturday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 1: Rudy Giuliani arrives for the funeral of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., at the Washington National Cathedral on September 1, 2018. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives for McCain’s funeral (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 1: Jay Leno arrives for the funeral of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., at the Washington National Cathedral on September 1, 2018. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Comic Jay Leno, a McCain friend, arrives at the National Cathedral for Saturday’s service. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 1: Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and John Kerry, former senator and secretary of state, arrive for the funeral of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., at the Washington National Cathedral on September 1, 2018. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., talks with John Kerry, former senator and secretary of State, ralk before the services. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 1: Former Senator Bill Bradley arrives at the Washington National Cathedral for the funeral service for the late Senator John McCain, September 1, 2018 in Washington, DC. Former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush are set to deliver eulogies for McCain in front of the 2,500 invited guests. McCain will be buried on Sunday at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Former Sen. Bill Bradley, was among the many former members of Congress who returned to Washington for the service. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 1: The casket of late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is carried by an Honor Guard out of the Washington National Cathedral after his funeral on September 1, 2018. His wife, Cindy, and son Jimmy, appear in the background. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Members of the armed services carry McCain’s casket from the service. The 1958 Naval Academy grad will be buried Sunday in Annapolis. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Recent Stories

Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, faces a conservative primary challenger.

Five races to watch in Pennsylvania primaries on Tuesday

A classic Run-DMC reference is the soundtrack to a lot of happenings in this week’s Congressional Hits and Misses.

‘You talk too much’— Congressional Hits and Misses

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is among senators seeking to amend a House-passed bill that would reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Senators seek changes to spy program reauthorization bill

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, left, and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., conduct a photo op before a meeting in the Capitol on Thursday.

Editor’s Note: Congress and the coalition-curious

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testifies during the House Homeland Security Committee hearing on the fiscal 2025 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security in the Cannon House Office Building on Tuesday.

Photos of the week ending April 19, 2024

House Rules ranking member Jim McGovern, D-Mass., left, and new Rules Chairman Michael C. Burgess, R-Texas, talk before a hearing in the Capitol on Monday.

Rule for emergency aid bill adopted with Democratic support