McCain defends slams of Armed Services Dems

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is not backing down from campaign trail slams against Democrats on the Armed Services Committee, including the reelected Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).

McCain, poised to take over the powerful panel, cast doubt on whether Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), who lost her reelection bid, would be attending lame-duck Armed Services meetings.

{mosads}“Frankly, I don’t think that Sen. Hagan is coming back,” McCain told reporters on Thursday.

“I made it very clear to all of them at the time when they voted to deprive me of my right to advise and consent, all courtesies were removed,” he added, referring to a move Democrats made last year to change the Senate’s filibuster rules.

The five-term lawmaker had stumped for the Democrats’ opponents, saying in New Hampshire that Shaheen was not a “serious member” of the panel.

“I don’t see her at very many of the hearings,” the Arizona Republican said while campaigning for GOP Senate hopeful Scott Brown. “I have not seen her really active in the committee.”

In North Carolina the next day, he chided Hagan for missing a briefing on the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria to attend a fundraiser in New York.

“Here we are with Americans being beheaded, and Sen. Hagan doesn’t even show up for the briefing,” McCain said after an event for now Sen.-elect Thom Tillis. “She goes to a fundraiser instead.”

This week, McCain said the acrimony springs from Democrats’ management of the committee and the chamber.

“They’re the ones that voted to blow up the Senate. They’re the ones who voted continuously with [Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)] to prevent me from proposing any amendments,” according to McCain.

“That destroys comity,” he added.