McCain: Trump often uninformed, impulsive
Senator calls for respect, pragmatic problem-solving
“We have to respect each other or at least respect the fact that we need each other.”
Sen. John McCain, getting ready to return to Capitol Hill after undergoing treatment for brain cancer in August, took to the pages of the Washington Post to again make his case for bipartisan compromise as well as take some shots at President Donald Trump.
In a guest column published Friday, McCain, R-Ariz., called for the Senate to return to regular order as it grapples with issues such as health care, immigration, tax reform and infrastructure spending, saying it’s more important than ever given that Trump “has no experience of public office, is often poorly informed and can be impulsive in his speech and conduct.”
McCain makes the point that the U.S. system of government, “with its checks and balances, its bicameral Congress, its protections of the rights of the minority,” was created to facilitate compromise, not speed.
“It requires pragmatic problem-solving from even the most passionate partisans. It relies on compromise between opposing sides to protect the interests we share,” McCain wrote in the Post. “We can fight like hell for our ideas to prevail. But we have to respect each other or at least respect the fact that we need each other.
“That has never been truer than today, when Congress must govern with a president who has no experience of public office, is often poorly informed and can be impulsive in his speech and conduct,” McCain continued. “We must respect his authority and constitutional responsibilities. We must, where we can, cooperate with him. But we are not his subordinates. We don’t answer to him. We answer to the American people. We must be diligent in discharging our responsibility to serve as a check on his power. And we should value our identity as members of Congress more than our partisan affiliation.”
Frustrated by the highly partisan process in which legislation was crafted behind closed doors during the fight to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act — a goal that McCain campaign for re-election on — McCain joined with two other Republican senators and all of the chamber’s Democrats to shoot down controversial GOP health-care legislation.
McCain’s July 28 vote against the Republican “skinny repeal” plan essentially doomed GOP efforts to undo what they call “Obamacare,” at least in the short term.
His vote remains a raw point with Trump, who took a swing at McCain at a recent news conference and who ripped him again, though not by name, during his Aug. 22 downtown Phoenix rally.
McCain and Trump have feuded on and off for the past couple of years.
McCain supports starting the process over, this time using the proper committees to draft and debate the health-care legislation.
He argues that the same approach could help find solutions to other vexing issues, including immigration, tax reform, infrastructure and the budget.
McCain’s guest column follows up on comments he made to The Arizona Republic last month in which he said he believes a deal on immigration reform is possible, even with border hardliner Trump in the White House.
McCain was a member of the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” who collaborated on a 2013 Senate-passed comprehensive immigration reform bill that he hopes to revive.
“The president has promised greater border security. We can agree to that,” McCain wrote in the Post. “A literal wall might not be the most effective means to that end, but we can provide the resources necessary to secure the border with smart and affordable measures. Let’s make it part of a comprehensive bill that members of both parties can get behind — one that values our security as well as the humanity of immigrants and their contributions to our economy and culture.”
Nowicki is The Republic’s national political reporter. Follow him on Twitter, @dannowicki.