USA Today
A cancer expert says Sen. John McCain has an "aggressive" form of brain cancer that will be difficult to treat. Dr. David Reardon at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute says glioblastoma is the most common type of brain cancer in adults. (July 20) AP
Cancer isn't keeping Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., from sticking to his political guns.
Just hours after news broke of McCain's brain cancer diagnosis, the Arizona senator blasted President Trump amid a report that the administration decided to halt a CIA training program for moderate Syrian rebels fighting Bashar al-Assad's regime.
"If these reports are true, the administration is playing right into the hands of Vladimir Putin," McCain said in a statement Thursday. "Making any concession to Russia, absent a broader strategy for Syria, is irresponsible and short-sighted."
The program began under the Obama administration in 2013, and Trump decided to end it about a month ago, The Washington Post reported.
McCain also criticized Trump for not having a broader strategy in Syria and the Middle East in general. "There is still no new strategy for victory in Afghanistan either. It is now mid-July, when the administration promised to deliver that strategy to Congress, and we are still waiting," he added.
McCain announced Wednesday night that he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor after a minor surgery to removed a blood clot above his left eye revealed the glioblastoma.
On Thursday morning, McCain vowed to return to Congress soon. "I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support," he said in a tweet.