Sen. John McCain Saturday blamed both Democrats and Republicans for the government shutdown, saying they did not cooperate and were not willing to compromise.
"The government shutdown is a direct result of the breakdown of cooperation in Congress," the veteran Arizona Republican said in a statement, reports The Hill. "As Republicans and Democrats run to cable news to point fingers and assign blame, the hard reality is that all of us share responsibility for this failure."
The vote for a continuing resolution to fund the government went down by a 50-49 vote in the Senate Friday night. McCain was not present for the vote, as he is undergoing treatment for brain cancer.
The Senate needed 60 votes to clear the House GOP's short-term plan to fund the government. Democrats had refused to support the measure, as they had sought a fix for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to be included.
"For years, under both a Republican and Democrat-controlled Congress and White House, partisanship has taken precedence over national security," McCain said. "Political gamesmanship, an unwillingness to compromise, and a lack of resolve on both sides have led us to this point."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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