Joe Biden praised the late Senator John Warner for following his 'convictions' and said the endorsement from the Virginia Rep...
Joe Biden praised the late Senator John Warner for following his 'convictions' and said the endorsement from the Virginia Republican gave him the confidence to be president.
'John's decisions are always guided by his values by his convictions, and never by personal political consequences,' Biden said at the packed service Wednesday at Washington National Cathedral.
Warner, a well-respected elder GOP statesman, endorsed Biden for president last year, one of many Republicans to pick the Democratic nominee over Donald Trump.
'When John endorsed me for president last year, it carried an extra meaning for me,' Biden said. 'When John endorsed me it gave me confidence, not about winning but being able to do the job. John gave me confidence.'
President Joe Biden wipes away a tear during a funeral service for the late Republican Senator John Warner on Wednesday at Washington National Cathedral
President Joe Biden said John Warner gave him the confidence to be president when the late Republican senator endorsed him last year
Joe and Jill Biden shake hands with Senators Mitch McConnell and Patrick Leahy
President Joe Biden passes the urn holding the remains of the late Senator John Warner
President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Paul Pelosi sat together at John Warner's funeral
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive for the funeral service for former Virginia Sen. John Warner at the Washington National Cathedral
In his eulogy, Biden honored Warner's military service in World War II and the Korean War. He also praised Warner's work on military issues during his 30 years in the Senate.
'John Warner gave his best to America,' Biden said. 'He was a good man, a great American.'
Biden chatted with lawmakers on his way into Warner's service with first lady Jill Biden at his side. He paused to shake hands with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.
The Bidens joined Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul in the front row.
The seats in the cathedral were mostly full with no physical distancing but nearly all attendees wore face masks.
John Warner died on May 25 of heart failure
Lawmakers past and present were at Warner's service at Washington National Cathedral on Wednesday morning, including former Secretary of State John Kerry, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, and current Senators Patrick Leahy, John Thune, and Joe Manchin.
Warner died on May 25 of heart failure. He was 94.
Biden, whose time in the Senate spanned Warner's entire tenure, said at the time that Warner 'lived an extraordinary life of service and accomplishment.'
'The John Warner I knew was guided by two things: his conscience and our Constitution,' Biden said in a statement. 'And, when acting in accordance with both, he neither wavered in his convictions nor was concerned with the consequences.'
Warner represented Virginia for 30 years, from 1979 until 2009, and was its last Republican senator as the commonwealth has shifted toward the left in recent years.
Both the state's Democratic senators, Mark Warner (no relation) and Tim Kaine, spoke at his funeral.
Warner was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. He also served as secretary of the Navy.
During his Senate tenure, he served as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and provided support for President George W. Bush's handling of the war in Iraq.
Known as a consensus builder in the halls of the Capitol, to the public he was most famous for being the sixth of actress Elizabeth Taylor's eight husbands.
Sen. Joe Manchin hugs a person before John Warner's funeral service
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell talks with U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, left, and Ken Salazar, United States Ambassador to Mexico, back to camera, at the funeral service
John Warner and Elizabeth Taylor met on a blind date in 1976 when the British ambassador asked Warner to escort Taylor to an embassy party honoring another Elizabeth, the Queen of England, who was visiting Washington. They married that December on Warner's farm near Middleburg, Virginia
John Warner and Elizabeth Taylor were married for two years
Warner met Taylor on a blind date in 1976 after she had broken up with Richard Burton for the second time. The British ambassador had asked him to escort the actress to an embassy party honoring another Elizabeth, the Queen of England, who was visiting Washington.
They said 'I do' that December on Warner's farm near Middleburg, Virginia, and his marriage to a movie star drew huge crowds when he was elected to the Senate in 1978. However, their marriage was short-lived and they divorced two years later in 1982.
Taylor wrote later that they remained friends, but she 'just couldn't bear the intense loneliness' when he became engrossed in his Senate duties.
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