By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON (AA) – Senator John McCain, who served in the senate for more than three decades, died of brain cancer Saturday after a year-long battle with the disease.
McCain was with his wife Cindy and their family when he died early at 4:28 p.m., his office said in a brief statement.
“At his death, he had served the United States of America faithfully for sixty years, ” it said.
McCain announced last year he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer and was given a dire prognosis.
The maverick Republican's death drew condolences from both sides of the aisle.
Democratic Senator Corey Booker, who is a rising star in his party, issued a statement on Twitter in which he recalled the warm welcome McCain gave him to the Senate in 2013.
“Our later private meeting in his office remains 1 of my most inspiring moments as a Senator, ” Booker said. “Death may end a life but it can never end a love. John Loved America: his impact will forever endure. RIP. ”
U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his “deepest sympathies ” to McCain's family. But he had earlier denied that McCain, who was captured and tortured during the Vietnam War, is a war hero.
“He’s not a war hero,” Trump said in 2015. “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
McCain repeatedly quarreled with the president, issuing intra-party rebukes, particularly on his handling of Russia. He reportedly asked Trump not be invited to his funeral.
McCain would have turned 82 next week.
