McCain Will Miss Final Senate Vote on GOP Tax Bill

Republican Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has returned to Arizona and will miss the final reconciliation vote on the GOP tax bill later this week.
A CBS News report states that the Senator left Washington Sunday and is heading back to Arizona to spend the holidays with his family. McCain had been admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center suffering side effects from his treatment for brain cancer earlier this week, missing a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday.
It is unclear if and when McCain would return to Washington. His daughter Meghan tweeted on Sunday that she and her family would be reunited with her father.
“Thank you to everyone for their kind words. My father is doing well and we are looking forward to spending Christmas together in Arizona.” she said.


With McCain seemingly away until at least after Christmas, it leaves a slimmer margin for Senate passage of a reconciled bill. But the House expected to take up the measure first on Tuesday, with a Senate vote later in the week. Vice President Pence will be delaying his planned trip to Israel in order to stay in Washington to break a possible tie on the tax bill vote.
President Trump returned to the White House on Sunday evening and stated that the Senator would return to D.C. if needed, contradicting Meghan McCain’s tweet and reports of the Senator’s current health.

“I understand he’ll come if we ever needed his vote, which hopefully we won’t. But the word is John will come back if we need his vote.”

McCain’s son-in-law appeared on “Face the Nation” on Sunday morning and said that he has been “in good spirits.”