McCain’s cancer deprives Senate of crucial vote, says Trump critic

If John McCain’s cancer requires a long absence from the Senate, parliamentaries won’t be able to have a leading voice on national security.

America will also be losing one of the few Republican critics of Trump’s foreign policy.

Despite his diagnosis with an aggressive form of brain cancer, the Senator is vowing a speedy return to his work.

McCain, a former Navy pilot, spent over 5 years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, frequently expresses his opinions on a number of issues, from immigration to defence spending.

The 2008 Republican presidential nominee also expressed deep scepticism of Trump’s work with Moscow, and emerged as perhaps the most vocal critic in Congress.  He also chairs the influential Senate Armed Services Committee.

McCain has reportedly travelled the globe on trips to soothe concerns of allies that are concerned Trump’s ‘America First’ policy means less international cooperation, according to Reuters.

In 2015, McCain, who was tortured while a prisoner of war, worked with Democratic Senator Feinstein to ban torture.  This week, he called for a bipartisan effort to amend the US healthcare system.

Sarah Binder, a professor at the Brookings Institution, said that the absence of the senator could be ‘catastrophic’ for the Republican effort to pass legislation on the controversial Affordable Care Act.

"His colleagues perceive him as a 'giant' of the Senate, whose expertise and perspective on foreign and military affairs is arguably irreplaceable," Binder said.