John McCain couldn’t bring himself to do it, at least not yet. After supporting every Office of Management and Budget director that’s come before the Senate in his time, as the Washington Examiner first reported, the Arizona Republican voted to advance Trump’s nominee out of the Senate Finance Committee.
But whether the circle will remain unbroken remains to be seen. As a procedural matter, McCain supported aspiring budget Director Mick Mulvaney on Thursday. But according to reports, McCain is still open to breaking ranks with Republicans on the floor.
The debate revolves around military dollars and cents. The war hawk finds the fiscal hawk’s opinions on cutting military spending unacceptable. It’ll be difficult to pull the trigger and vote against Mulvaney, though.
First, if Mulvaney goes down, McCain will bear most of the burden as one of the Republicans who turned coat. And second, the senator would have to explain why he supported Presidents Clinton and Obama’s OMB nominees, who previously cut military spending.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
