McCain returns to Ariz., gives GOP 1 less vote
WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain left the nation’s capital Sunday to spend Christmas in Arizona with his family as he battles brain cancer, giving his Republican Party one less vote as it is expected this week to attempt to push through a contentious tax bill along party lines.
President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that McCain, R-Ariz., and his wife, Cindy McCain, have “headed back (to Arizona), but I understand he’ll come if we ever needed his help, which hopefully we won’t.” He added: “He’s going through very tough time, there’s no question about it. But he will come back if we need his vote.”
Trump said he spoke to Cindy McCain by phone Sunday. “I wished her well. I wish John well,” he said.
McCain was hospitalized Wednesday while receiving chemotherapy treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, Md., and at the nearby National Institutes of Health. He received a diagnosis early this year of glioblastoma, an aggressive, malignant brain tumor that can cause headaches, seizures, blurred vision and other symptoms.
News of McCain’s travel first emerged Sunday after his daughter Meghan McCain tweeted about the family’s holiday plans.
“Thank you to everyone for their kind words,” she wrote. “My father is doing well and we are all looking forward to spending Christmas together in Arizona.”
Without McCain, Republican leaders have a razorthin margin to pass the final version, which has been in House-Senate negotiations, and cannot afford any more defections.
But for Republicans, the bar to pass the legislation isn’t as high as initially feared. Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Bob Corker, RTenn., said last week that they will vote for the measure, after indicating earlier that they would not.