‘Gave his best to America’: Biden mourns late Sen. John Warner at Washington, D.C. funeral
President Biden honored the late Sen. John Warner at a funeral Wednesday for the Virginia Republican who died last month at 94.
“John Warner gave his best to America,” Biden said to a crowd of political dignitaries at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
“He was a good man and a great American. It was an honor to have known and worked with him.”
First Lady Jill Biden also attended the ceremony, along with a host of current lawmakers and political notables.
The president praised Warner as a “towering voice” in the Senate who transcended partisan lines.
“John was a man of conscience, character and honor, with a deep commit to God and country,” Biden said.
Warner died on May 25 of heart failure at his home in Alexandria, Va., with his wife and daughter at his side, said his longtime chief of staff.
Warner, a conservative with an independent streak, was elected to the Senate in 1978 and served until his retirement in 2008.
“John’s decisions were always guided by his values, by his convictions, and never by personal political consequences,” Biden said. “And was always guided by his obligations to all of those he represented, even those who did not vote for him.”
Along with the president, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), who is not related to John Warner, gave eulogies.
A former secretary of the Navy, Warner was one of the Senate’s most influential military experts.
He was a key supporter of the war in Iraq and served for a time as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Warner was married to actress Elizabeth Taylor from 1976 to 1982. He was the sixth of the Hollywood actress’ seven husbands.
