John McCain was ‘very well aware’ of plans for library, Cindy McCain says
Sep 28, 2023, 12:53 PM
PHOENIX – Planning for a library honoring John McCain’s legacy was underway before the Arizona political icon’s death in 2018, Cindy McCain said Thursday morning.
“He was very well aware of it … before he passed,” the longtime U.S. senator’s widow told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show after officials announced the creation of the McCain National Library in Tempe.
The facility will be built on 22 acres of Arizona State University land near Mill Avenue and Curry Road, north of Tempe Town Lake, ASU said. The site, which ASU has owned since 1980, is now home to the school’s community services building.
The project will receive funding from the federal American Rescue Plan that President Joe Biden signed in 2021.
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McCain National Library announcement coincides with Biden visit
Cindy McCain introduced Biden later Thursday before he spoke about the state of democracy and John McCain’s legacy at Tempe Center for the Arts.
Despite political differences, Biden and John McCain were close friends during their time together in the Senate.
Biden delivered a eulogy during the 2008 Republican presidential nominee’s funeral in 2018.
In July 2022, Cindy McCain accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Biden on behalf of her husband.
What is the purpose of McCain National Library?
McCain said the library, which will include an archive and memorabilia, will promote her late husband’s ideals and goals.
Former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey discusses John McCain, the new library and more. pic.twitter.com/M5mC7tOgqT
— KTAR News 92.3 (@KTAR923) September 28, 2023
“It will be a learning center, a research center for people that … study democracy, constitutional law, things like that,” she said.
Plans for the multi-purpose facility include a visitors center, conference center and an Arizona home for the McCain Institute.
ASU already houses an archive of McCain’s papers from his public career.
“John McCain is an important symbol of American democracy, and he holds a special place of respect and appreciation in Arizona and with Arizona State University,” ASU President Michael Crow said in a press release.
“We will work with others around the country and in the community to take this unique portion of the ASU Tempe campus and create a place that honors his extraordinary life and legacy, serves the principles he devoted his life and career to, and carries that legacy forward for future generations to learn from.”
