Sen. John McCain said Monday that the Trump administration has not provided enough information to his committee about the ambush in Niger.
“One of the fights I’m having right now with the administration is that the Armed Services Committee is not given enough information, and they deserve it because we represent their families too,” Mr. McCain, Arizona Republican and chair of the committee, said on ABC News. “Unless you learn the lessons then you’re going to repeat them.”
Mr. McCain said that the fighting surrounding the death of Sgt. La David Johnson, one of the four U.S. soldiers killed in the attack, needs to end.
“My friends, we should not be fighting about a brave American who lost his life serving his country,” he said. “That should not be the topic of discussion in America today.”
Mr. Johnson’s death has been a source of great controversy after Rep. Frederica Wilson said that Mr. Trump was insensitive during a phone call to Myeshia Johnson, Johnson’s widow.
Ms. Wilson and Mr. Trump have exchanged heated words on both social media and in interviews about the exchange. Mrs. Johnson said Monday she supports Ms. Wilson’s version of the story and said the president couldn’t remember her husband’s name in the phone call.
For his part, Mr. McCain said that his relationship with President Trump is “almost none.”
The longtime senator was diagnosed with brain cancer earlier this year, but has continued to be a key voice in the chamber, most notably casting the deciding vote that killed the Republicans’ health care repeal efforts this summer.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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