GOP senator suggests John McCain voted against the ObamaCare repeal because of his brain tumor
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) suggested in a radio interview Tuesday that Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) vote against Senate Republicans' ObamaCare repeal might have had something to do with his recent brain cancer diagnosis. "I'm not gonna speak for John McCain — he has a brain tumor right now — that vote occurred at 1:30 in the morning, some of that might have factored in," Johnson said.
Shocked, the radio host asked for clarification. "I mean he ... just had recovered from [surgery] and then flew all the way to Washington, D.C., but you really think that that played a factor in his judgment call?" the host asked.
"Again, I don't know exactly what — we really thought that, and again I don't want speak for any senator — I really thought John was going to vote yes to send that to conference at 10:30 at night," Johnson said. "By about 1, 1:30, he voted no. So you have talk to John in terms what was on his mind."
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McCain's decision to join Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) in voting no effectively killed Republicans' seven-year effort to repeal ObamaCare. He'd indicated prior to the vote that he had hesitations.
Listen to Johnson's remarks below. Becca Stanek
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