Should the Russell Senate Office Building be Renamed after John McCain?

What’s the story?

• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has introduced a resolution to rename the historic Russell Senate Office Building after John McCain, who passed away on Saturday following a battle with brain cancer.

• In a "Dear Colleague" sent to fellow senators on Tuesday, Schumer and Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona attempted to harness support for the re-naming resolution, noting that McCain chose space in the Russell Senate Office Building for the "entire length of service in the Senate."

"Renaming the Russell building in his honor ensures that his story will be told with the hope that inspiration becomes motivation and future leaders merge with his brand of courage and commitment," Schumer and Flake wrote.

• When Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced on Tuesday that he was forming a bipartisan committee to make recommendations for honoring McCain, Schumer's proposal wasn't mentioned. And Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said he would not support the renaming efforts.

"This is a question of making sure that however John is honored, it's set in stone that John is always honored," Cassidy said Tuesday. "I don't want to establish a precedent where somebody is unhonored in the future."

Who was Richard Russell?

• Sen. Richard Russell, a Democrat from Georgia, was known as the “senators’ senator” for his expertise in the higher chamber’s recondite rules and procedures. He served for 40 years and died in 1971; the following year, the building was named after him.
• While Russell had a number of legislative accomplishments (including backing the New Deal and authoring the National School Lunch Act), as the official Senate history explains:

Russell "often used his parliamentary skills to oppose civil rights legislation, including bills to ban lynching and to abolish the poll tax."

• In a 1957 speech on the Senate floor, Russell denounced what he saw as an attempt to "destroy the separate system for the races on which the social order of the Southern states is built.”

What do you think?

Do you want your senators to support renaming the Russell Office Building after McCain? Hit Take Action and let them know, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: Rebel At / Creative Commons)