Biden names widow of Republican McCain as envoy to UN agency
US Democratic vice presidential nominee and Senator from California, Kamala Harris, Cindy McCain (C) and Democratic presidential candidate former US Vice President Joe Biden listen to tribal leaders and veterans speak at the American Indian Veterans National Memorial at the Heard Museum October 8, 2020, in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo: AFP)
- By Agence France-Presse (AFP)
- June 24, 2021 12:17 PM
Washington, United States | US President Joe Biden said Wednesday he will nominate Cindy McCain, widow of Republican senator John McCain, as the US Ambassador to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, headquartered in Rome .
Cindy McCain announced her support for the Democratic candidate for the White House last September, marking a break with incumbent Republican President Donald Trump, who was campaigning against Biden for re-election.
"My husband John lived by a code: country first. We are Republicans, yes, but Americans foremost. There's only one candidate in this race who stands up for our values as a nation, and that is @JoeBiden," she wrote at the time on Twitter.
A furious Trump shot back on his own Twitter account.
"I hardly know Cindy McCain other than having put her on a Committee at her husband's request. Joe Biden was John McCain's lapdog. So many BAD decisions on Endless Wars & the V.A., which I brought from a horror show to HIGH APPROVAL. Never a fan of John. Cindy can have Sleepy Joe!"
McCain is the chair and director of the Hensley Beverage Company, a Phoenix-based distributor of beer, wine, spirits and nonalcoholic drinks, and is active in a number of philanthropic organizations.
"I am deeply honored and look forward the work ahead," McCain wrote on Twitter.
Her nomination will have to be confirmed by the Senate in which he husband served until his death in 2018. He had run as the Republican candidate for the presidency against Barack Obama in 2008.
© Agence France-Presse
