With McCain’s Absence, McConnell Has One Less Vote To Spare But He’s Charging Ahead Anyway
Leadership is pushing for a vote on some form of health care legislation next Tuesday. Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who was just diagnosed with brain cancer, tells his sparring partners on the Hill that he won't be gone for long.
The Associated Press:
GOP Leaders Plan Tuesday Health Vote, It's An Uphill Climb
Republican leaders pushed toward a Senate vote next Tuesday on resurrecting their nearly flat-lined health care bill. Their uphill drive was further complicated by the ailing GOP Sen. John McCain's potential absence and a dreary report envisioning that the number of uninsured Americans would soar. (7/20)
USA Today:
McCain Absence Won't Stop Senate From Voting On Health Care
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is still expected to hold a vote to proceed on some form of legislation to repeal Obamacare next week, despite the fact that Sen. John McCain likely won’t be back in Washington to cast his vote. The Arizona Republican senator's absence, in addition to the GOP members who have announced their opposition to the bill, makes it even harder for McConnell to round up the votes to pass a bill. (Collins, 7/20)
Los Angeles Times:
McCain's Absence Leaves GOP With Thin Senate Majority, Complicating Obamacare Repeal And Wider Agenda
With just two votes to spare, every senator matters. McCain’s inability to flash his trademark thumbs up or thumbs down when he strides into the chamber to cast his vote could seriously stymie the Republicans on key legislation. (Mascaro, 7/20)
The Hill:
McCain Absence Adds To GOP Agenda’s Uncertainty
“We're really working to try to get agreement but obviously yeah it's more challenging without him,” said Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.).
McCain, who was not in Washington this week after having a blood clot removed from above his left eye, may return. (Carney and Bolton, 7/21)
The Washington Post:
Despite Cancer Diagnosis, McCain Says, ‘I’l Be Back Soon’
Battling brain cancer, John McCain on Thursday vowed to return to the Senate, leveling fresh criticism at the Trump administration and aiming a good-natured dig at Republican and Democratic colleagues shaken by news of his diagnosis. “I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support — unfortunately for my sparring partners in Congress, I’ll be back soon, so stand-by!” McCain said in a tweet. Showing no signs of stepping back from political and national security battles, he issued a statement slamming the Trump administration over its Syria policy. (Cassata, 7/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
McCain Warns ‘Sparring Partners’ In Senate He Will Soon Return To The Fray
Mr. McCain, 80 years old, has been absent from the Senate this week after surgery last Friday for a blood clot above his left eye. Doctors determined that the blood clot was associated with a glioblastoma, an aggressive type of cancer that can be hard to cure. Treatments include a combination of chemotherapy and radiation. (Hughes and Andrews, 7/20)
Los Angeles Times:
Cancer Diagnosis Spotlights Sen. John McCain's Rare Ability To Bring Partisans Together
John McCain, with his short fuse and lashing tongue, is not always an easy man to like, or to get along with. The Arizona senator acknowledged as much in a wry tweet he dispatched Thursday morning — candor and self-deprecation always being two of his strongest, most appealing suits. “I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support,” McCain wrote hours after revealing he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. “Unfortunately for my sparring partners in Congress, I'll be back soon, so stand-by!” At a time of bone-deep political division, the two-time Republican presidential hopeful is a rare unifier. (Barabak, 7/20)
And more on McCain's condition —
Los Angeles Times:
Sen. John McCain Has A Glioblastoma Tumor. Here's How Doctors Treat This Aggressive Form Of Brain Cancer
Being told you have cancer is never welcome, but being told you have a glioblastoma tumor is especially scary. This is the news that longtime Arizona Sen. John McCain got after he had a blood clot removed above his left eye on Friday. A glioblastoma is the same type of tumor that killed Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in 2009. It also was responsible for the death of Beau Biden, son of then[-Vice President Joe Biden, in 2015. (Netburn, 7/20)
NPR:
Why Glioblastomas Are So Hard To Treat
Doctors use words like "aggressive" and "highly malignant" to describe the type of brain cancer discovered in Arizona Sen. John McCain. The cancer is a glioblastoma, the Mayo Clinic said in a statement Wednesday. It was diagnosed after doctors surgically removed a blood clot from above McCain's left eye. Doctors who were not involved in his care say the procedure likely removed much of the tumor as well. (Hamilton, 7/20)
Stat:
87 Experimental Glioblastoma Treatments Are In The Works
Glioblastoma, the brain cancer that Sen. John McCain has, is invariably — and accurately — described as aggressive and as having a poor prognosis: Not even Sen. Edward Kennedy or Beau Biden, with access to the best care and most cutting-edge therapies in the world, beat it. Recent advances, however, have persuaded some scientists that effective treatments are on the horizon — and some might even help McCain live longer than earlier patients did. (Begley, 7/21)
