McCain laments Senate inaction on just about everything

WASHINGTON—Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., entered the Senate chamber to a roar of applause Tuesday.

McCain’s wife, Cindy, sat in the visitor’s gallery clutching a tissue as she watched her husband embrace his colleagues for the first time since doctors discovered cancer in his brain. McCain gave two thumbs up to the Senate clerk, and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who had been stalling, quietly cast the 50th vote to begin debate on healthcare reform.

McCain squeezed a red-faced Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and met McConnell’s Democratic counterpart, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in front of the dais for a warm embrace.

Senators from both sides of the aisle created an informal reception line, offering words of encouragement, a few laughs, and several hugs. McCain’s face lit up when he saw Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.—a Senate colleague since 1992. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., slapped McCain’s arm as senators returned to their seats. He went in for an awkward hug and the two ended up spinning in a circle. They laughed.

The room settled. Vice President Mike Pence broke the 50-50 tie on healthcare debate and McConnell offered the floor to his cancer-afflicted colleague. McCain spoke for just over 15 minutes. He cracked a few jokes and thanked his fellow senators for their support during uncertain times. But he didn’t yield the floor until he made it clear the United States Senate can’t return to business as usual.

“We’re getting nothing done,” McCain lamented. “All we’ve really done this year is confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Our healthcare insurance system is a mess. We all know it, those who support Obamacare and those who oppose it.”

He jested the only progress Republicans have made on healthcare is somehow making the unpopular Affordable Care Act a more beloved policy.

McConnell sat quietly, listening to McCain while he criticized GOP leaders for crafting healthcare legislation behind closed doors. Democrats cheered. But McCain quickly vindicated his fellow Republicans by pointing out Democrats did the same thing in 2010 when they passed Obamacare without a single Republican vote.

McCain derided the congressional body in which he has served for 30 years for succumbing to one partisan ploy after another. He spoke about his love for the Senate’s decorum, its rules, and its history. McCain expressed his thankfulness for complicated Senate procedures that force lawmakers to work out their differences and solve problems.

But the upper chamber doesn’t do that anymore, he said.

“We’ve all played some role in it,” he added. “Certainly I have. Sometimes, I’ve let my passion rule my reason. Sometimes, I made it harder to find common ground because of something harsh I said to a colleague. Sometimes, I wanted to win more for the sake of winning than to achieve a contested policy.”

Despite McCain’s rousing speech, McConnell didn’t change his course of action. Republicans began working later that day among themselves on a partisan plan to reform the healthcare system.

But the 80-year-old respected veteran’s speech offered more than just a touching moment. McCain forced his colleagues to look in the mirror. That’s worth something.

The thing about sanctions

The Senate overwhelmingly passed new bipartisan sanctions against Russia and Iran earlier this summer. Six weeks later, after a series of delays, the House passed its version of the targeted penalties on Tuesday by a vote of 419-3. The House measure also included new penalties for North Korea.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., described the sanctions package as a way to tighten “the screws on our most dangerous adversaries in order to keep Americans safe.”

If signed into law, the bill would penalize firms that contribute to Russian energy development, negatively affecting Russia’s revenues. The sanctions also would shorten the duration of loans to Russian oil companies and to Russian banks. The bill also includes language to weaken President Donald Trump’s power to override or reduce the restrictions.

Despite the widespread support for crippling Russia, Iran, and North Korea, the sanctions hit several unexpected roadblocks along the way.

After the penalties passed out of the Senate on a 98-2 vote early last month, most expected the House to quickly schedule its own vote and move the sanctions to Trump’s desk. Democrats began speculating the White House secretly worked behind the scenes to slow-walk the bill because it didn’t want to further harm its already deteriorating relations with Russia.

“I don’t even know all the dynamics that caused it,” Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., told me when I asked him about the delay. “If there’s any suggestion that the Trump administration has tried to slow-walk this, that’s ridiculous in my mind. It seems like the only word that the Democrats can pronounce lately is Russia.”

Franks added the rhetoric stems entirely from Democrats’ hatred for the president: “It is a disservice to America and to future generations.” —E.W.

Trump’s transgender torpedo

Amid a busy news week in Washington, President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced a ban on transgender military service members—polarizing Republicans.

Social conservatives such as Rep. Vicki Hartzler, R-Mo., and Family Research Council President Tony Perkins thanked the president for ending an Obama-era policy to allow soldiers to change their gender identity while serving.

“As our nation faces serious national security threats, our troops shouldn’t be forced to endure hours of transgender ‘sensitivity’ classes and politically correct distractions like this one,” Perkins said.

Hundreds of transgender service members currently serve in the military, with some undergoing treatment to make a physical transition. That raises many practical questions for what Trump meant when he said transgender individuals will no longer be able to serve “in any capacity.”

It looks like his staff doesn’t know for sure either.

When asked if the Pentagon would remove transgender service members from the military, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the implementation policy is still in the works.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., criticized Trump for communicating an unclear message.

“The Department of Defense has already decided to allow currently serving transgender individuals to stay in the military, and many are serving honorably today,” McCain said in a statement. “Any American who meets current medical and readiness standards should be allowed to continue serving. There is no reason to force service members who are able to fight, train, and deploy to leave the military—regardless of their gender identity.” —E.W

Evangelicals rally behind Kushner

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a White House senior adviser, enjoyed vocal support from an unlikely constituency this week: evangelicals.

Kushner met privately with the Senate and House Intelligence Committees on Monday and Tuesday and publicly released an 11-page explanation of his Russian contacts. While Kushner convened with lawmakers behind closed doors, evangelical leaders rallied to his defense.

Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Texas, tweeted that speculation about the Trump campaign colluding with Russia to win the 2016 election is nonsense and needs to stop. He added Kushner is “a gracious ally of the evangelical community and people of faith.”

Other Southern Baptist pastors—David Jeremiah, Robert Jeffress, and Ronnie Floyd—also issued encouraging messages for Kushner, an Orthodox Jew. Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr., Florida megachurch pastor Paula White, and Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, also voiced public support for Kushner.

Johnnie Moore, a former Liberty University chaplain, organized the pro-Kushner campaign, independent from the White House.

“We've all had it," Moore said, according to the Associated Press. Moore helps lead Trump’s evangelical advisory board. The group of evangelicals have been quiet about Russia’s alleged election meddling and typically only chime in for issues important to Christians: abortion and religious liberty. But Moore said he wanted to respond to attacks on Kushner, whom he considers a friend of the evangelical community.

"We didn't ask permission. [The White House] didn't even know we were doing it," Moore said of the Kushner statements. "For us it was personal." —E.W.

Scout’s honor

President Donald Trump continued an 80-year-old tradition Monday, delivering a 35-minute speech to about 40,000 Boy Scouts in West Virginia during the group’s National Jamboree, generally held every four years since 1937.

While each administration has participated in the annual event, Trump’s appearance stood out.

For the first time ever, the Boy Scouts disavowed the president’s remarks.

Trump went off script and railed against “fake news,” talked about his frustration with the Senate’s delay on healthcare reform, gloated about his election victory, and disparaged Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama.

“This 80-year-old custom of inviting presidents to speak to Scouts is in no way an endorsement of any person, party, or policies. Rather, the speaking invitation is based on our ‘Duty to Country,’” The Boy Scouts said in a statement following backlash from Trump’s speech. “[T]he Boy Scouts of America reflects a number of cultures and beliefs. We will continue to be respectful of the wide variety of viewpoints in this country.” —E.W.