McCain says goodbye to Armed Services counterpart

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) bid farewell to his counterpart on the Senate Armed Service Committee, Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.).

“It could be said he and I have slightly different leadership styles,” McCain joked on the Senate floor Tuesday. “I’m gentler and less confrontational, but what he has seems to work for him.”

{mosads}McCain was being sarcastic and pointed out that Levin tends to get calmer as debates get hotter. He added that most of the heat comes from himself.

McCain said the two have been serving together on the Senate Armed Services Committee for three decades.

McCain said he is most proud that the two have been able to work out difference on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) each year. The Senate is slated to vote on their latest deal later this week.

“He has never broken his word to me,” McCain said. “The committee is going to miss you, the Senate will miss you, the men and women in the military will miss you and I will miss you a lot.”

Levin is retiring from the Senate and McCain will take over as chairman next year, when Republicans are in control of the upper chamber.