John McCain’s 106-year-old mother, Roberta, mourned her senator son in public Friday as his casket was carried into the Capitol Rotunda to lie in state on the catafalque built for Abraham Lincoln.
McCain is only the 31st person to lie in state there, an honor reserved for past presidents and the most revered public servants.
Roberta McCain was comforted by Mike Pence, the vice-president, minutes before an honor guard bore the senator’s casket into the center of the dome.
Pence is representing President Trump, who was on his way to an event at one of his own golf clubs just as the ceremony ended.
Senior members of Trump’s administration including John Kelly, his chief of staff, Kellyanne Conway, his senior adviser, and Jeff Sessions, the attorney general with whom he is in an ugly public feud, were present.
The most senior Congressional leaders of both parties sat close to McCain’s mother, his widow Cindy, and his seven children in the front row closest to the casket.
Pence remembered traveling with McCain and his energy on the long trips.
“On behalf of a grateful nation we will ever remember John McCain and served his country honorably. May God bless John McCain.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expressed the gratitude of the nation when he welcomed McCain’s remains to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol on Friday.
“Generations of Americans will continue to marvel at the man who lies before us: The cocky, handsome Naval aviator who barely scraped through school, but then fought for freedom in the skies… Who witnessed to our highest values even through terrible torture… And who became a generational leader in the United States Senate, where our nation airs its great debates,” said McConnell.
“John McCain deserves to be remembered the way he wants to be remembered,” Speaker Paul Ryan said. “We share your anguish in losing this great man.”
Outside the capitol crowds lined up in the rain to come view the casket after the ceremony.
