No thumbs down on tax bill: McCain to miss vote

An increasingly frail John McCain has returned to Arizona after being hospitalized for several days. He is reported to be recovering from various side effects related to the chemotherapy he has received to treat what his doctors have referred to as an “aggressive” form of brain cancer. McCain will spend the holidays with his family and will not be on hand for the final vote on the GOP tax package — expected to take place this week. His office optimistically reports he will return to Washington in January.

A joint statement released Sunday night by McCain’s senate office and his doctor describes his current health situation:

Dr. Mark Gilbert, Chief of Neuro-Oncology at the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Cancer Institute, said McCain,”has responded well to treatment he received at Walter Reed Medical Center for a viral infection and continues to improve. An evaluation of his underlying cancer shows he is responding positively to ongoing treatment.”

His office said the 81-year-old McCain “will undergo continued treatment at the [Scottsdale] Mayo Clinic:”

During the vote to repeal and replace Obamacare, which was delayed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell until Arizona’s Senior Senator could participate, he entered the chamber, and seeking maximum effect, dramatically thrust his thumb down in a manner emulating Roman emperor Caligula, denying life to pleading gladiators in the Colosseum. The so-called “skinny repeal”was dealt a devastating blow, and failed with his stunning vote, in which he joined the Democrats and two other RINOs Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins.