As the 2013 government shutdown entered its third week, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) went after the White House and Democrats over a swift rejection of House Republicans' latest proposal.
Speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday, McCain charged that Democrats' "immediate condemnation" of the GOP's latest effort was a "visceral reaction in a most negative fashion." Earlier in the morning, House Republicans compiled a plan to open the government through Jan. 15 and raise the debt ceiling through Feb. 7, while delaying the Obamacare medical device tax by two years, and cutting federal health care subsidies for members of Congress.
McCain's displeasure with Democrats and the Obama administration arrives nearly a week after he voiced shutdown frustrations toward tea party Republicans. In an interview with CNN last Wednesday, the veteran senator and 2008 GOP presidential nominee criticized the group's strategy.
“We started this on a fool’s errand, convincing so many millions of Americans and our supporters that we could defund Obamacare," McCain said.
By last Sunday, McCain hoped that both sides of the aisle could come to the meeting table. In an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation," he quipped that Vice President Joe Biden should become more involved, expressing hope that he would be taken "out of the witness protection program."
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