Longtime Pal Warren Beatty Will Be A Pallbearer For John McCain Pallbearers For John Mccain

as a lawmaker.

But he could also span the ideological divide outside of politics. Actor at Washington National Cathedral.

McCain  after battling brain cancer.

The 81-year-old Oscar winner’s friendship with the relatively conservative politician was forged before McCain’s wrote in a 2008 piece.

“I think I’ve made it clear that I’m a liberal Democrat ... I consider my friendships to be friendships,” Beatty told the magazine. “Let me say this a better way. I don’t think that political ideology is necessarily germane to friendships.”

McCain offered a to the “Bulworth” star when he won the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2008. 

Other prominent pallbearers include politicians of varying ideologies: former Vice President Joe Biden (D), former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I), former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), former Sen. Gary Hart (D-Colo.), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and former Homeland Security Secretary and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge (R).

Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), former Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and members of McCain’s family will offer tributes.

McCain’s body will be interred Sunday at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

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Joe Biden, Warren Beatty Are Among The Pallbearers Chosen For John McCain's Memorial Service Pallbearers John Mccain

The late Senator John McCain will be laid to rest this week after a number of memorials held in Arizona and Washington, D.C., to honor his life and service to the United States.

Fifteen people are expected to carry the Vietnam War veteran's coffin at the Washington National Cathedral memorial service before he is laid to rest at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, on Sunday.

Among them are former Vice President Joe Biden, actor Warren Beatty, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Secretary of Defense William Cohen,

Republican Senator John McCain holds a news conference to announce the introduction of The Post-9/11 Troops to Teachers Enhancement Act at the U.S. Capitol, on October 27, 2009. McCain died on Saturday, August 25. Chip Somodevilla/Getty

Biden, a longtime friend of McCain's, is expected to deliver a tribute to the senator during the public service, which is set to take place on Thursday at the North Phoenix Baptist Church in Phoenix.

Beatty's friendship with McCain was formed before the late senator's 2000 presidential bid, while Bloomberg, who paid tribute to McCain, praising him as a "hero in war" and a "hero in politics," was also a longtime friend.

Senator John McCain gives a thumbs-up before receiving the the 2017 Liberty Medal from former Vice President Joe Biden at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, on October 16, 2017. Biden is expected to serve as a pallbearer at McCain’s memorial service. William Thomas Cain/Getty

In addition to Beatty, Biden, Bloomberg and Cohen, others selected to serve as pallbearers at the service include: former McCain presidential campaign manager Richard Davis; fundraiser Carla Eudy; McCain's former chief of staff Mark Salter; businessman Stephen Dart; former Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold; former Texas Senator Phil Gramm; former Colorado Senator Gary Hart; Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse; former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge; FedEx founder Fred Smith; and Vice Chairman of Open Russia Vladimir Kara-Murza.

McCain died a day after his family announced that he had made the decision to cease treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer, which he had been diagnosed with in 2017.

In addition to Biden's remarks, former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush are also expected to deliver tributes, along with McCain's daughter, Meghan. Two of McCain's other children, Andrew and Bridget, will also provide readings from Scripture.

Related:

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr., a longtime friend of McCain's, is also set to give remarks.

McCain will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol on Friday before the ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral on Saturday.

He will then be laid to rest on Sunday at the U.S. Naval Academy beside a longtime friend, Chuck Larson.