Former US Presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush, once fierce rivals of the late senator John McCain, have praised him in eulogies and joined his daughter in subtle and not-so-subtle rebukes of President Donald Trump.
Without naming the absent Mr Trump, Meghan McCain made a forceful statement at her father's memorial service condemning the President in remarks that at times drew applause.
"We gather here to mourn the passing of American greatness, the real thing, not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly, nor the opportunistic appropriation of those who live lives of comfort and privilege while he suffered and served," she said on Saturday, speaking forcefully and, at times, through tears.
Taking aim at Mr Trump's campaign slogan 'Make America Great Again', she said Mr McCain's America was always great.
Mr Trump feuded publicly with Mr McCain and mocked his military service, continuing to knock him even after he grew ill. The former Republican Arizona senator died on August 25 from brain cancer, days shy of his 82nd birthday.
Mr Trump, also a Republican, spent Saturday tweeting on other subjects and went to one of his private golf clubs in Virginia.
Nearly every major US political leader attended the memorial service.
Mr McCain asked Mr Obama and Mr Bush to deliver eulogies while the family made it clear that Mr Trump was not welcome.
Mr Obama, who beat Mr McCain in the 2008 US Presidential election, hailed the one-time prisoner of war for his commitment to truth and core democratic values.
"So much of our politics, our public life, our public discourse can seem small and mean and petty, trafficking in bombast and insult, and phony controversies and manufactured outrage," Mr Obama said.
"It's a politics that pretends to be brave and tough, but in fact is born in fear. John called on us to be bigger than that. He called on us to be better than that."
- John McCain, US Senator and former presidential candidate, dies
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Mr Bush, in his eulogy, described Mr McCain as a man with a code.
"He respected the dignity inherent in every life, a dignity that does not stop at borders and cannot be erased by dictators," Mr Bush said.
"Perhaps above all, John detested the abuse of power. He could not abide bigots and swaggering despots."
Mr McCain's body, which had lain in state at the US Capitol, arrived at the cathedral with a motorcade that first stopped at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial where his wife, Cindy Mr McCain, laid a wreath.
Members of the military slowly carried the coffin into the soaring cathedral and back out again after the two-and-a-half-hour service.
Top members of Mr Trump's administration, including his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, attended, as did White House chief of staff John Kelly and national security adviser John Bolton.
Other guests included former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, comedian Jay Leno, and former senators Bob Dole and John Kerry.
On Sunday there will be a private burial service in Annapolis, Maryland, at the US Naval Academy.
Reuters
