Senator: Brain tumor, late night may have influenced McCain’s health vote

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) says Sen. John McCain’s brain cancer may have factored into the Arizona Republican’s stunning vote last month that sunk the GOP effort to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

McCain’s vote surprised Johnson, who said McCain’s illness and the fact that the vote was cast in the middle of the night likely influenced his decision.

“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 in an interview on 560AM, “Chicago’s Morning Answer.”{mosads}

The answer prompted a surprised response from Amy Jacobson, the show’s co-host. 

“Really?” she said. “I mean he did get out — just had recovered from getting the brain tumor removed and then flew all the way to Washington, D.C., but do you really think that played a factor in his judgment call?”

McCain cast the decisive vote that killed the healthcare bill.

A spokesman for McCain criticized Johnson’s remarks.

“It is bizarre and deeply unfortunate that Sen. Johnson would question the judgement of a colleague and friend,” a McCain spokesman told NBC.

“Senator McCain has been very open and clear about the reasons for his vote,” said the spokesman, who was not identified by name in the report.

Two other GOP senators also voted no, Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), but their votes were expected. McCain’s rejection of the bill stunned GOP leaders and colleagues.  

Johnson said he was convinced at a 10:30 p.m. meeting that McCain would vote for the so-called skinny repeal bill because Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) had assured senators that the House would agree to conference negotiations to revise it before final passage.

“I really thought John was going to vote yes,” he said.

Johnson conceded the bare-bones repeal bill, which was a last-ditch effort by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to pass something through the Senate, was “grossly inadequate.”

But he said “we did get a call from Paul and he assured us that skinny repeal was not going to pass the House and would have to go to conference.”

– This story was updated at 1:54 p.m.