McCain suggests Brennan be fired

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) suggested today that John Brennan be ousted as White House homeland security adviser.

McCain said on Fox and Friends that Brennan had “lost any utility he could have for the President of the United States.”

{mosads}Brennan has been under fire from Republicans ever since he said in a USA Today op-ed that “politically motivated” criticisms of the administration “serve the goals of al-Qaeda.” On Sunday, McCain’s ally Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) also called for Brennan to lose his job.

McCain also criticized Brennan for downplaying the 20% recidivism rate of detainees released from Guantanamo.

Brennan said this weekend that 20% “isn’t that bad.”

“People sometimes use that figure, 20 percent, say ‘Oh my goodness, one out of five detainees returned to some type of extremist activity,'” Brennan said, according to ABC News. “You know, the American penal system, the recidivism rate is up to something about 50 percent or so, as far as return to crime. Twenty percent isn’t that bad.”

McCain blasted Brennan for the remarks, saying Brennan had “lost touch with reality.”

“When you impugn people’s patriotism and integrity and make statements that compare people going back into the fight in Afghanistan or Yemen or other places, with criminals who go back to a life of crime in the United States, you’ve lost touch with reality,” McCain said.

Watch the video here