Trump calls McCain a 'crusty voice in Washington' and says Republicans need his vote for the healthcare bill

Thomson Reuters

President Donald Trump said that he hopes Sen. John McCain recovers quickly from his recent surgery, calling the veteran Republican lawmaker a "crusty voice in Washington" and noting that the GOP Senate healthcare bill needs his vote to pass.

McCain, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump, underwent brain surgery on Friday to remove a blood clot above his left eye. He's recuperating in his home state of Arizona and his physicians say the procedure was successful and that he is doing well.

"I can tell you we hope John McCain gets better very soon because we miss him," Trump said during an address at the White House, adding to laughter, "He's a crusty voice in Washington. Plus, we need his vote."

McCain's office suggested in a statement last week that the senator would be out for a week. But two neurosurgeons told The New York Times that the typical recovery time for such a procedure was "a few weeks" or more.

"He'll be back," Trump said. "And he will be back sooner than somebody else would be back. He'll be back soon."

Senate Republicans are delaying a vote on their healthcare bill until McCain returns to Washington. Two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky, have already said they will not vote to proceed on the measure, meaning that Republicans need McCain to have a chance at reaching the necessary 50-vote threshold.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had hoped to hold a procedural vote on the bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, next week.

"While John is recovering, the Senate will continue our work on legislative items and nominations, and will defer consideration of the Better Care Act," McConnell said in a statement on Saturday.

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