McCain ‘very worried’ GOP will lose House

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said on Tuesday that he’s worried the House will flip to Democratic control unless Congress can pass some major legislation before the midterm elections next year.

Speaking at a Wall Street Journal forum, McCain said that Republicans in the House have “done little,” citing the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, which did not involve the House, as a rare 2017 bright spot.

“I’m very worried about losing the House of Representatives,” McCain said. “If we went to the polls tomorrow, what have we done? Gorsuch, and rolled back some regulations.”

McCain told The Wall Street Journal that ordinary Americans have yet to see the help that President Trump promised.

{mosads}“I don’t think we have accomplished that much” for “average citizens,” McCain said. But he sees Trump’s push against Obama-era regulations as a good start.

“Those roll back of regulations has been very helpful for small business,” he argued. “I think it’s been reflected in the stock market.”

But he’s worried about recent polls that show worrying signs for Republicans. Generic Democrats have an edge over Republicans in early polling, and Trump’s disapproval hit 60 percent in a new Gallup survey.

Fellow Arizona Republican Rep. Martha McSally said Tuesday she is facing an uphill reelection fight simply by running in the GOP.

“Right now, it doesn’t matter that it’s me, it doesn’t matter what I’ve done. I have an ‘R’ next to my name and right now, this environment would have me not prevail,” McSally told a group of bankers.

McCain says vulnerable lawmakers like McSally could be in trouble unless Congress gets its act together. 

“I’ve been seeing [poll] numbers, of Democrat versus Republican,” he said. “I’m very worried.”

McSally said that the Democrats’ path to a House majority is being paved by Trump and his “distracting” tweets, coupled with a Congress unable to come to consensus.

“We’re going to hand the gavel to Pelosi in 2018. They only need 23 seats and the path to that gavel being handed over is through my seat,” McSally said. 

“Any Republican member of Congress, you are going down with the ship.”