Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) has announced that he will propose re-naming the Senate building after the recently deceased Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
McCain died at the age of 81 on August 25 after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. In a statement following McCain’s death, Schumer called McCain one of the “few truly great people” in life.
“His dedication to his country and the military were unsurpassed, and maybe most of all, he was a truth teller – never afraid to speak truth to power in an era where that has become all too rare,” Schumer said. “The Senate, the United States, and the world are lesser places without John McCain.”
Schumer added, “Nothing will overcome the loss of Senator McCain, but so that generations remember him I will be introducing a resolution to rename the Russell building after him.”
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) has publicly stated his desire to be the first Republican to co-sponsor the bill.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters that a committee of Republican senators would be established to determine the best way to honor McCain. McConnell suggested a portrait or renaming the Armed Services Committee office after McCain.
The current name of the Senate building, the Russell Senate Office Building, is named after the late Richard Russell, a staunch segregationist who served in the Senate for 38 years as a Democrat from Georgia.
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