GOP Senator: McCain’s Brain Tumor ‘Might Have Factored In’ To Health Care Vote
- 7 years ago
A Republican senator appears to have implied that the brain tumor Arizona Senator John McCain was recently diagnosed with may have had an influence on his vote against the GOP’s health care bill.
A Republican senator appears to have implied that the brain tumor Arizona Senator John McCain was recently diagnosed with may have had an influence on his vote against the GOP’s health care bill.
According to CNN, Wisconsin’s Senator Ron Johnson said on an AM560 radio show Tuesday, “I'm not gonna speak for John McCain -- he has a brain tumor right now -- that vote occurred at 1:30 in the morning, some of that might have factored in.”
And when the radio host pressed for an explanation about his comment, Johnson reportedly said, in part, “Again, I don't know exactly what -- we really thought -- and again I don't want speak for any senator. I really thought John was going to vote yes…By about 1, 1:30, he voted no. So you have talk to John in terms what was on his mind.”
In response to these remarks, a spokesperson for McCain said, “It is bizarre and deeply unfortunate that Senator Johnson would question the judgment of a colleague and friend. Senator McCain has been very open and clear about the reasons for his vote.”
In fact, despite Johnson’s earlier optimism about McCain’s support for the so-called “skinny repeal” plan, the Washington Post reports the Arizona lawmaker had indicated a day before the vote that “he was leaning against supporting the legislation unless House Speaker Paul Ryan assured GOP senators that the House would not move to quickly approve the bill in its current form.”
And even though Ryan called for negotiations to take place, McCain remained skeptical, saying, “The Speaker's statement that the House would be 'willing' to go to conference does not ease my concern that this shell of a bill could be taken up and passed at any time.”
The Arizona lawmaker ultimately gave a thumbs-down vote on July 28, which, along with the dissents of two Republican colleagues and the Democrats, killed the GOP effort.
McCain later issued a statement, saying, “I’ve stated time and time again that one of the major failures of Obamacare was that it was rammed through Congress by Democrats on a strict party-line basis without a single Republican vote. We should not make the mistakes of the past.”
A Republican senator appears to have implied that the brain tumor Arizona Senator John McCain was recently diagnosed with may have had an influence on his vote against the GOP’s health care bill.
According to CNN, Wisconsin’s Senator Ron Johnson said on an AM560 radio show Tuesday, “I'm not gonna speak for John McCain -- he has a brain tumor right now -- that vote occurred at 1:30 in the morning, some of that might have factored in.”
And when the radio host pressed for an explanation about his comment, Johnson reportedly said, in part, “Again, I don't know exactly what -- we really thought -- and again I don't want speak for any senator. I really thought John was going to vote yes…By about 1, 1:30, he voted no. So you have talk to John in terms what was on his mind.”
In response to these remarks, a spokesperson for McCain said, “It is bizarre and deeply unfortunate that Senator Johnson would question the judgment of a colleague and friend. Senator McCain has been very open and clear about the reasons for his vote.”
In fact, despite Johnson’s earlier optimism about McCain’s support for the so-called “skinny repeal” plan, the Washington Post reports the Arizona lawmaker had indicated a day before the vote that “he was leaning against supporting the legislation unless House Speaker Paul Ryan assured GOP senators that the House would not move to quickly approve the bill in its current form.”
And even though Ryan called for negotiations to take place, McCain remained skeptical, saying, “The Speaker's statement that the House would be 'willing' to go to conference does not ease my concern that this shell of a bill could be taken up and passed at any time.”
The Arizona lawmaker ultimately gave a thumbs-down vote on July 28, which, along with the dissents of two Republican colleagues and the Democrats, killed the GOP effort.
McCain later issued a statement, saying, “I’ve stated time and time again that one of the major failures of Obamacare was that it was rammed through Congress by Democrats on a strict party-line basis without a single Republican vote. We should not make the mistakes of the past.”