'A great honor': McCain's historic reign of International Republican Institute ends

Bree Burkitt | The Republic | azcentral.com

U.S. Sen. John McCain, who was diagnosed with brain cancer one year ago, has decided to step down from the leadership role he has held with the International Republican Institute for 25 years.

The non-profit, which describes its work as bolstering "democracy in places where it is absent," announced Friday that McCain, 81, had informed the board of his intention to end his role as chairman. He will remain on the board.

"In my years as chairman, I have been privileged to watch generations of young IRI foot soldiers serve a cause greater than their self-interest," McCain said in a letter to the board. "Serving as chairman has been one of the most satisfying experiences of my life."

Serving as chairman of @IRIglobal for 25 years has been a great honor & I look forward to continuing to serve on its board & support its mission. @SenDanSullivan will be an excellent new leader as IRI continues to advocate for democracy & freedom worldwide.https://t.co/cZ500OkXNL — John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) August 3, 2018

McCain's historic run and battling Trump

McCain first joined the organization, which is a counterpart to the National Democratic Institute, as a member of the board of directors in 1992. He was named chairman in 1993.

Last year, McCain drew attention when he announced Daniel Twining, a vocal "never-Trumper," as the new president of the institute. The move was seen as a slight against President Donald Trump whom McCain has had a notoriously hostile relationship with.

In his memoir, McCain delivered a scathing assessment of Trump, saying that to the president, "the appearance of toughness or a reality-show facsimile of toughness seems to matter more than any of our values."

After Trump's meeting in Helsinki with the Russian President Vladimir Putin, McCain issued a statement calling Trump's press conference "the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory."

"The damage inflicted by President Trump's naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate," he wrote. "But it is clear that the summit in Helsinki was a tragic mistake."

In 2017, McCain, at an institute dinner in Washington, D.C., said the various scandals involving Trump had hit "Watergate size and scale."

"I think we've seen this movie before. The shoes continue to drop, and every couple days there’s a new aspect,” McCain was quoted as saying by the Daily Beast.

Trump has mocked McCain's record as a POW during the Vietnam War, saying McCain is "a war hero because he was captured" and that he liked "people that weren’t captured."

RELATED: 'Flirting with authoritarianism': John McCain blasts Trump's worldview

Alaska senator to replace McCain

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, will serve as his replacement, according to an institute news release.

John Murphy, senior vice-president for international policy of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, tweeted a message of gratitude to McCain after the announcement.

Murphy thanked McCain for "his leadership advancing the cause of democracy around the globe over the years."

As a proud alum of ⁦@IRIglobal⁩, profound thanks to @SenJohnMcCain for his leadership advancing the cause of democracy around the globe over the years—US values and interests are at stake. And all the best to ⁦@SenDanSullivan⁩ in his new role. https://t.co/4QxmiR7wkD — John G. Murphy (@JGodiasMurphy) August 4, 2018

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, acknowledged McCain's years of service to the organization.

"Congratulations to my friend and colleague @SenDanSullivan as he takes the reins of @IRIglobal. Thank you to @SenJohnMcCain for your decades of service to this important institution," he wrote on Twitter.

Congratulations to my friend and colleague @SenDanSullivan as he takes the reins of @IRIglobal. Thank you to @SenJohnMcCain for your decades of service to this important institution. — Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) August 4, 2018

Battling cancer, celebrating a 'life well-lived'

The six-term Republican senator has been recovering at his secluded property in Cornville since he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive and often deadly form of brain cancer, last year.

On average, glioblastoma patients who have surgery and standard treatment survive 15 to 16 months.

McCain's daughter, Meghan McCain, recently told Glamour magazine her father has acknowledged his doctors gave him a "very poor prognosis" and that, in addition to getting treatment, he has been trying to "celebrate, with gratitude, a life well-lived."

Reporter Yvonne Wingett Sanchez contributed to this story.

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Sen. John McCain on his legacy Sen. John McCain discusses his most enduring contribution to the Senate during an interview with The Arizona Republic on Aug. 3, 2017. Thomas Hawthorne/azcentral.com