McCain wants Ernst on Armed Services panel

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Wednesday said he wants Republican Iowa Senate candidate Joni Ernst to serve on the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, citing her service in the Army National Guard.

“I can’t tell you how happy I will be to have someone on the Armed Services Committee with her background and knowledge and experience that she has,” McCain said during a campaign stop for Ernst, the Quad-City Times reported.

{mosads}“We need to care for the men and women who are serving. As importantly, in some way more importantly, we need to care for our veterans,” he added, referring to an Ernst line of attack that her opponent, Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), missed a majority of the meetings held by the House panel that oversees the troubled Veterans Affairs Department.

Ernst, a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard who served in Iraq, and Braley are locked in a dead heat race.

McCain made his comments the same day former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice endorsed Ernst, saying the Senate could use someone with her military background.

“We need more leaders, like Joni, who understand America’s role abroad and the threats posed against us,” Rice said in a statement released by Ernst’s campaign.

McCain’s latest remarks add to a growing list of partisan barbs he has made about the venerable committee, which he is widely expected to chair should the GOP take control of the Senate.

Earlier this week, he criticized Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) for not being a “serious member” of the committee.

He then charged Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) skipped crucial panel meetings about the threat posed by Islamic militants to attend fundraisers.

Both of those senators are in tough races that could decide which party controls the upper chamber next year.

Tags John McCain Joni Ernst

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