The deadline was Wednesday for Arizona Sen. John McCain to resign in time for a special election to fill his seat this November. McCain is battling brain cancer and has been working remotely at his family ranch in Arizona instead of serving in Washington this year. The senior senator’s longtime aide Mark Salter says any discussion of McCain’s stepping down was false.

“He’s going to do his job to the best of his ability as long as he can. Whatever you hear rumored about in the press or something is just concocted stories and since people just, yeah I don’t know whatever the reasons, but there is nothing to any of the rumors you’ve heard,” said Salter.

It will be up to Gov. Doug Ducey to appoint a successor who will serve until 2020 if McCain resigns. There has also been speculation that Cindy McCain would fill her husband’s seat, but Salter says he is not aware of conversations addressing that possibility.