WASHINGTON — CBS News is reporting that Republican Sen. John McCain will miss the upcoming vote on the Republican tax bill in the Senate this week.
They report that McCain is returning to Arizona to spend the holidays with his family after spending several days in a Maryland hospital recovering from chemotherapy treatment for his brain cancer.
McCain’s absence is not expected to derail Republican efforts to pass the bill, despite a razor-thin majority in the Senate. If just two Republican senators vote against the bill, it will die on the floor of the Senate.
Republican leaders got two key holdouts late last week when Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee announced they would vote yes for the Republican’s tax plan when it came to the floor of the Senate.
Corker was the only Republican to vote against moving out of the Senate in December.
McCain, 81, was admitted to the hospital for what is office called “normal side effects” of his cancer treatment last week.
His daughter, Meghan McCain made headlines last week when she was consoled by former Vice President Joe Biden while discussing her father’s battle with cancer on ABC’s “The View.”
Meghan McCain took to Twitter to thank everyone for their kind words and encourage people to donate to various cancer charities this Christmas.
Thank you to everyone for their kind words. My father is doing well and we are all looking forward to spending Christmas together in Arizona. If you’re feeling charitable this Christmas @HeadfortheCure or @NBTStweets to help find a cure for brain cancer is what I recommend. ❤️
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) December 17, 2017
McCain announced he had brain cancer in July shortly before casting the deciding vote against Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. His dramatic, late-night vote effectively killed Republican chances of repealing the law this year.
