John McCain | |
---|---|
United States Senator from Arizona |
|
Assumed office January 3, 1987 Serving with Jeff Flake |
|
Preceded by | Barry Goldwater |
Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee | |
Assumed office January 3, 2015 |
|
Preceded by | Carl Levin |
Chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee | |
In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007 |
|
Preceded by | Ben Nighthorse Campbell |
Succeeded by | Byron Dorgan |
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1997 |
|
Preceded by | Daniel Inouye |
Succeeded by | Ben Nighthorse Campbell |
Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee | |
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005 |
|
Preceded by | Ernest Hollings |
Succeeded by | Ted Stevens |
In office January 20, 2001 – June 3, 2001 |
|
Preceded by | Ernest Hollings |
Succeeded by | Ernest Hollings |
In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2001 |
|
Preceded by | Larry Pressler |
Succeeded by | Ernest Hollings |
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 |
Personal details | |
Born |
John Sidney McCain III August 29, 1936 Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) |
|
Children | 7 (notably Meghan) |
Alma mater | United States Naval Academy (BS) |
Website | Senate website |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/branch | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1958–1981 |
Rank | Captain |
Battles/wars | Vietnam War (POW) |
Awards |
John Sidney McCain III (born August 29, 1936) is an American politican who currently serves as the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He served as the Republican presidential nominee for the 2008 United States presidential election.
McCain followed his father and grandfather, both four-star admirals, into the United States Navy, graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958. He became a naval aviator, flying ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers. During the Vietnam War, he was almost killed in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. In October 1967, while on a bombing mission over Hanoi, he 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 repatriation offer. His war wounds have left him with lifelong physical limitations.
He retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981 and moved to Arizona, where he entered politics. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982, McCain served two terms. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, winning re-election easily five times, most recently in 2016. While generally adhering to conservative principles, McCain at times has had a media reputation as a "" for his willingness to disagree with his party on certain issues. After being investigated and largely exonerated in a political influence scandal of the 1980s as a member of the Keating Five, he made campaign finance reform one of his signature concerns, eventually gaining passage of the McCain–Feingold Act in 2002. He is also known for his work in the 1990s to restore diplomatic relations with Vietnam, and for his belief that the Iraq War should have been fought to a successful conclusion. McCain has chaired the Senate Commerce Committee, opposed spending that he considered to be pork barrel, and played a key role in alleviating a crisis over judicial nominations with the bi-partisan group known as the Gang of 14.