After the election, McCain was approached about appearing on Dancing With the Stars.
She seriously considered participating, but according to her husband, was concerned that her surgically replaced knee would not be able to withstand the rigors of the competition.

Continuing her humanitarian aid work with a January 2009 trip to Dubai, India, and Cambodia, she said that she was relieved that the campaign was over and that, while it had been "wild and nuts" at times, it had also been "a remarkable experience to be a contender for the highest office in the land."
 She said the ongoing global economic crisis was adversely affecting humanitarian organizations, and she expressed hope that President Obama would be successful in dealing with it.

She expressed support for LGBT rights by appearing alongside her daughter Meghan at an April 2009 convention of the Log Cabin Republicans, and posing for the NOH8 Campaign, a gay rights project opposed to California Proposition 8, a ballot measure banning same-sex marriage.
 The following year she appeared in another NOH8 public service announcement against bullying, and in it appeared to break with her husband's position and express support for repeal of the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy prohibiting gays from serving openly in the U.S. military.
However, she subsequently tweeted that "I fully support the NOH8 campaign and all it stands for and am proud to be a part of it.
But I stand by my husband's stance on DADT."

In September 2009, she spoke about her migraines publicly for the first time and decided to speak at the International Headache Congress about raising awareness for sufferers.

During her husband's eventually successful 2010 senatorial re-election campaign, she rarely made public appearances.

McCain appeared in March 2011 alongside Eastern Congo Initiative founder Ben Affleck to testify before a panel of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on behalf of continued monetary assistance to the Democratic Republic of Congo, in an environment where the Republican-controlled House was looking to make significant cuts to foreign aid.
 She has noted the difficulty of getting attention to some of the topics she feels most strongly about; at a Futures Without Violence summit in 2012, she said, "When I talk about rape in Congo, people turn their backs and run, especially the men."

In late 2013 and early 2014, McCain used the occasion of Super Bowl XLVIII to highlight her concerns about sex trafficking in the United States, an issue that she had begun working on in conjunction with The McCain Institute.
 She campaigned for legislation to address the problem at both the federal and state levels.
 She also served as co-chair of the Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's Task Force on Human Trafficking.

In April 2015, during the Sedona Forum, McCain and actress Demi Moore discussed ways to end sex trafficking.
Later in that year she staged appearances with Heidi Heitkamp, Democratic Senator from North Dakota, to discuss human trafficking in that state and elsewhere.
 She said of trafficking, "Everybody has seen it; they just didn't know what they were looking at."
She praised Obama and Congress for passage of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 and, together with Malika Saada Saar, executive director of the Human Rights Project for Girls, started the No Such Thing Campaign to end the use of the term "child prostitute", saying "there are only victims and survivors of child rape."

During the 2016 United States presidential election, McCain and her husband ended up not voting for the Republican nominee in the wake of the Access Hollywood controversy.

Nonetheless, following the change in administration in Washington, in May 2017 it was reported that McCain was under consideration for a prominent role at the U.S. Department of State, possibly focusing on issues related to human trafficking.
 In June 2017, there were further reports that after extensive recruiting by President Trump following a recommendation from Ivanka Trump, she had agreed to become an Ambassador-at-Large dealing with mat
After the election, McCain was approached about appearing on Dancing With the Stars. She seriously considered participating, but according to her husband, was concerned that her surgically replaced knee would not be able to withstand the rigors of the competition.
Continuing her humanitarian aid work with a January 2009 trip to Dubai, India, and Cambodia, she said that she was relieved that the campaign was over and that, while it had been "wild and nuts" at times, it had also been "a remarkable experience to be a contender for the highest office in the land."  She said the ongoing global economic crisis was adversely affecting humanitarian organizations, and she expressed hope that President Obama would be successful in dealing with it.
She expressed support for LGBT rights by appearing alongside her daughter Meghan at an April 2009 convention of the Log Cabin Republicans, and posing for the NOH8 Campaign, a gay rights project opposed to California Proposition 8, a ballot measure banning same-sex marriage.  The following year she appeared in another NOH8 public service announcement against bullying, and in it appeared to break with her husband's position and express support for repeal of the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy prohibiting gays from serving openly in the U.S. military. However, she subsequently tweeted that "I fully support the NOH8 campaign and all it stands for and am proud to be a part of it. But I stand by my husband's stance on DADT."
In September 2009, she spoke about her migraines publicly for the first time and decided to speak at the International Headache Congress about raising awareness for sufferers.
During her husband's eventually successful 2010 senatorial re-election campaign, she rarely made public appearances.
McCain appeared in March 2011 alongside Eastern Congo Initiative founder Ben Affleck to testify before a panel of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on behalf of continued monetary assistance to the Democratic Republic of Congo, in an environment where the Republican-controlled House was looking to make significant cuts to foreign aid.  She has noted the difficulty of getting attention to some of the topics she feels most strongly about; at a Futures Without Violence summit in 2012, she said, "When I talk about rape in Congo, people turn their backs and run, especially the men."
In late 2013 and early 2014, McCain used the occasion of Super Bowl XLVIII to highlight her concerns about sex trafficking in the United States, an issue that she had begun working on in conjunction with The McCain Institute.  She campaigned for legislation to address the problem at both the federal and state levels.  She also served as co-chair of the Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's Task Force on Human Trafficking.
In April 2015, during the Sedona Forum, McCain and actress Demi Moore discussed ways to end sex trafficking. Later in that year she staged appearances with Heidi Heitkamp, Democratic Senator from North Dakota, to discuss human trafficking in that state and elsewhere.  She said of trafficking, "Everybody has seen it; they just didn't know what they were looking at." She praised Obama and Congress for passage of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 and, together with Malika Saada Saar, executive director of the Human Rights Project for Girls, started the No Such Thing Campaign to end the use of the term "child prostitute", saying "there are only victims and survivors of child rape."
During the 2016 United States presidential election, McCain and her husband ended up not voting for the Republican nominee in the wake of the Access Hollywood controversy.
Nonetheless, following the change in administration in Washington, in May 2017 it was reported that McCain was under consideration for a prominent role at the U.S. Department of State, possibly focusing on issues related to human trafficking.  In June 2017, there were further reports that after extensive recruiting by President Trump following a recommendation from Ivanka Trump, she had agreed to become an Ambassador-at-Large dealing with mat
Cindy McCain