Mike Pence Pays Respect to the Fallen John McCain

Vice President Mike Pence and the leaders of the two branches of Congress on Friday paid their respects to John McCain, as the late Arizona senator’s body lay in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

The speeches, by men with whom McCain was not particularly close, largely were devoid of the emotion and personal anecdotes that characterized the eulogies delivered a day earlier in Phoenix.

But Pence did offer one personal story. He said he was traveling, as a member of Congress, with McCain and other lawmakers in the Middle East.

Pence (shown above at the ceremony) said they were wrapping up another 18-hour day and that he was literally falling asleep at a dinner with Iraqi officials. After the dinner, Pence said McCain turned to him and said, “Mike, we’ve got a few more meetings tonight, but why don’t you turn in. You look like you could use the rest.”

Pence said McCain had boundless energy. The late senator and former Naval aviator was a champion of the troops, but no one was harder on the generals who led them, the vice president said.

Pence recounted the highlights of McCain’s life that by now are well-known — son and grandson of four-star admirals who crashed in North Vietnam after the enemy shot down his plane during his 23rd bombing run.

McCain refused early release to stay with his fellow prisoners of war, suffering confinement and torture for more than five years.

“But captivity did not diminish John’s sense of calm, or his commitment to mission.”

“Then as now, Americans marveled at the iron will of John McCain,” Pence said. “But captivity did not diminish John’s sense of calm, or his commitment to mission.”

When McCain finally was able to come home, Pence noted, “he traded service in the uniform of the United States for service in Congress, exchanging the rank of captain for congressman and later senator.”

McCain would go on to serve 35 years in the House and Senate. Pence said it was a testament to the mark he left that he received the honor previously given to only 30 people in the history of the country — lying in state at the Rotunda.

“In my years in Congress, and as vice president, we didn’t always agree, either,” he said. “And he almost always noticed. But his support for limited government, for tax reform, and support for our armed forces surely left our nation more prosperous and more secure, and he will be missed.”

Related: How the Media Distort John McCain’s Legacy of ‘Bipartisanship’

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) also offered kind words about the senator.

“John McCain stood up for every value that this Capitol Building represents,” McConnell said. “Then he brought that same patriotism inside its walls.”

Said Ryan: “You see, with John, there was never feigned disagreement. The man never feigned anything. He just relished the fight. He showed us that in the arena, the honest back and forth, that’s where the cause gets bigger.”