Announcement Expected: Biden to Allocate Funding for John McCain Library

President Joe Biden will announce federal funding for an Arizona State University library in honor of late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., during a speech Thursday.

The announcement come as Biden emphasizes democracy protection in his reelection campaign against likely GOP nominee Donald Trump.

The McCain Library, a “multipurpose facility that will provide Arizonans a place to learn, research, develop and work,” according to the McCain Institute, will be built with funding from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to Axios Phoenix confirmed to Axios Phoenix.

Biden’s announcement will be integrated into a more extensive speech addressing “the work we must do together to strengthen our democracy.”

Biden chose Arizona, a state marked by Trump’s election challenges in 2020 and seen as a pivotal battleground in the upcoming election, for his fourth significant speech on safeguarding democracy. The state also holds significance as the home of McCain, often cited by Biden as an embodiment of the Republican Party’s values before Trump’s presidency.

Biden recently told his supporters that the future of democracy stands as a central pillar of his reelection bid.

“I’m running because democracy is at stake,” he said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre noted: “We remember Sen. McCain’s life very well. We know that he was a war hero. We know what he spoke up against. He is someone who demonstrated extraordinary courage, character, and integrity throughout his entire life.”

Biden and McCain, despite their contrasting political ideologies, served together in the Senate for many years and developed a friendship.

McCain died of brain cancer in 2018, the same disease that had taken Biden’s son Beau three years earlier. Biden delivered the eulogy at McCain’s memorial service in Arizona.

“Our family is honored to be a part of this special effort to build a lasting tribute to my husband, a library we believe will serve the State of Arizona and its people the way John served his country,” Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, Cindy McCain said in a statement.