NATO is considering a proposal to name its new $1.4 billion Brussels headquarters after the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. — a plan that has the support of three former leaders of the alliance, Stars and Stripes reported.
The push first came from British parliamentarian Tom Tugendhat, and has picked up steam with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., announcing Thursday he is drafting a resolution to support the plan.
"There was no greater support of @NATO than @SenJohnMcCain," Rubio tweeted. "I am drafting a Senate resolution supporting the naming of new #NATO HQ after him & calling on @USNATO to support this move. As McCain loved to say when asked why he held a certain position 'it is the right thing to do.'"
"Few argued more passionately for a shared commitment to each other's security or understood better that we are all part of one great experiment in freedom," Tugendhat wrote in an online petition at Change.org. "Honoring him would signify our determination to stand together for a new generation."
According to Stars and Stripes, the move, however, could put NATO's current leader, Jens Stoltenberg, in a tough spot with President Donald Trump, who has been ambivalent toward the alliance and openly critical of McCain before his death.
Three former NATO secretary-generals — Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Javier Solana, and George Robertson — back the effort, calling McCain a "beacon for all of us who believe that transatlantic unity is the only means of ensuring peace," Stars and Stripes reported.
The three released a joint letter of support Thursday.
NATO said the name change would be considered "carefully."
"Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has received a letter from Tom Tugendhat MP and his proposal will be considered carefully," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said in a statement, Stars and Stripes reported. "The Secretary-General has tremendous respect for Sen. John McCain."
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