Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey will not appoint someone to fill the late Sen. John McCain’s seat until after his burial.
“Out of respect for the life and legacy of Senator John McCain and his family, Governor Ducey will not be making any announcements about an appointment until after the senator is laid to rest,” Ducey’s senior adviser Daniel Ruiz II said in a statement obtained by the Arizona Republic.
“Now is a time for remembering and honoring a consequential life well lived,” the statement added.
McCain died on Saturday at the age of 81 a little more than a year after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor called a glioblastoma.
Funerals and tributes are planned for McCain in both Phoenix and Washington, D.C. Afterwards he will be buried at the cemetery at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., but a date has yet to be set.
Ducey, a Republican, is required by law to pick a replacement for McCain — an appointee who would serve until the 2020 election.
Among those people being talked about as potential appointees are Cindy McCain, John McCain’s wife of more than 37 years, and former Sen. Jon Kyl.
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