John McCain, Arizona Senator and one-time Republican presidential nominee who distinguished himself as a political maverick in an era of increasing polarization and partisanship, has died. He was 81.
McCain was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor in July 2017. His death was confirmed by a statement from his office. “At his death he had served the United States of America faithfully for 60 years,” the statement read, noting that his wife Cindy and other family were with him when he died Saturday at 4:28 p.m. at his home in Arizona.
McCain had not been present in the Senate since December, but continued to weigh in on major issues through his office.
A Vietnam veteran who endured almost six years in captivity in North Vietnam, where he was beaten and tortured by the North Vietnamese, McCain was a key champion of the military and veterans affairs, as he chaired the Senate Armed Services Committee. He appeared at the Kennedy Center along with his friend and fellow Vietnam veteran, John Kerry, for a screening of Ken Burns’ “The Vietnam War.
