John McCain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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United States Senator from Arizona | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office January 3, 1987 – August 25, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Barry Goldwater | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Jon Kyl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 1st district | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1987 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | John Jacob Rhodes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | John Jacob Rhodes III | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | John Sidney McCain III August 29, 1936 Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | August 25, 2018 Cornville, Arizona, U.S. | (aged 81)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Resting place | United States Naval Academy Cemetery | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Political party | Republican | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouses | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Children | 7, including Meghan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parents | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Relatives | Joe McCain (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Education | United States Naval Academy (BS) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Civilian awards | Presidential Medal of Freedom (posthumous, 2022) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Signature | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Website | Senate website | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname | John Wayne | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Military service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Branch/service | United States Navy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years of service | 1958–1981 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rank | Captain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Battles/wars | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Military awards |
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John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman[2] and naval officer who represented the state of Arizona in Congress for over 35 years, first as a Representative from 1983 to 1987, and then as a senator from 1987 until his death in 2018. He was the Republican Party's nominee in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.
McCain was a son of Admiral John S. McCain Jr. and grandson of Admiral John S. McCain Sr. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958 and received a commission in the U.S. Navy. McCain became a naval aviator and flew ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers. During the Vietnam War, he almost died in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. While on a bombing mission during Operation Rolling Thunder over Hanoi in October 1967, McCain was shot down, seriously injured, and captured by the North Vietnamese. He was a prisoner of war until 1973. McCain experienced episodes of torture and refused an out-of-sequence early release. He sustained wounds that left him with lifelong physical disabilities. McCain retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981 and moved to Arizona.
In 1982, McCain was elected to the House of Representatives, where he served two terms. Four years later, he was elected to the Senate, where he served six terms. While generally adhering to conservative principles, McCain also gained a reputation as a "maverick" for his willingness to break from his party on certain issues, including LGBT rights, gun regulations, and campaign finance reform where his stances were more moderate than those of the party's base. McCain was investigated and largely exonerated in a political influence scandal of the 1980s as one of the Keating Five; he then made regulating the financing of political campaigns one of his signature concerns, which eventually resulted in passage of the McCain–Feingold Act in 2002. He was also known for his work in the 1990s to restore diplomatic relations with Vietnam. McCain chaired the Senate Commerce Committee from 1997 to 2001 and 2003 to 2005, where he opposed pork barrel spending and earmarks. He belonged to the bipartisan "Gang of 14", which played a key role in alleviating a crisis over judicial nominations.
McCain entered the race for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination, but lost a heated primary season contest to George W. Bush. He secured the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, beating fellow candidates Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, though he lost the general election to Barack Obama. McCain subsequently adopted more orthodox conservative stances and attitudes and largely opposed actions of the Obama administration, especially with regard to foreign policy matters. In 2015, he became Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He refused to support then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election and later became a vocal critic of the Trump administration. While McCain opposed the Obama-era Affordable Care Act (ACA), he cast the deciding vote against the American Health Care Act of 2017, which would have partially repealed the ACA. After being diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2017, he reduced his role in the Senate to focus on treatment, dying from the disease in 2018.
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