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In the new HBO documentary John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls, Senator John McCain's (R-AZ) daughter Meghan recounts a screaming match the two had before the Senator returned to Washington on July 28, 2017 to vote on an Obamacare repeal bill.
The vote occurred only days after McCain underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from behind his eye, a symptom of an aggressive form of brain cancer with which he was diagnosed. Dismissing the risk of developing a brain hemorrhage by getting on a plane, the 81-year-old former prisoner of war insisted that it was his choice, and duty, to vote on the bill.
"He said, 'I have to get back for the healthcare bill' and I said, 'What could possibly happen if he gets on a plane?' and the doctor said he would like hemorrhage and it can be dangerous if he still has air in his brain, and all this crazy stuff," Meghan recalls in the film.
"So I freaked out and I screamed at everyone that he couldn't get on the plane and that I didn't agree with it. And my dad snapped at me and said, 'It's my life and it's my choice."'
In the days before the vote, McCain gave a powerful speech on the Senate floor, blasting his fellow Republicans for crafting a health care repeal bill behind closed doors and not putting it up for debate, as is customary. "We are getting nothing done, my friends," he had said on the senate floor, "We are getting nothing done."
McCain's vote decided the fate of the bill—he voted no, and the measure failed. Upon entering the floor of the Senate, McCain approached Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and said, "no," while giving a very obvious thumbs down. "I will not vote for this bill as it is today," McCain told his colleagues, citing Senate protocol.
John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls premiered Monday night on HBO.
Reactions to the story mostly positive on Twitter. Users praised McCain and his decision, admiring his strength and dedication to his service to his country.