McCain ‘sounding strong’ following removal of clot

WASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona Sen. John McCain is “sounding strong” as he recovers from surgery to remove a blood clot above his left eye, his closest Republican colleague in the Senate said Monday.

“They found the spot and it looks like everything is going to be A-OK,” South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham told reporters after speaking to McCain. “He wants to come back so bad he can’t stand it. I think they won’t let him fly for a week. But I think he would walk back if they would let him.”

McCain, 80, underwent surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona on Friday. Doctors said the senator had a “minimally invasive” procedure to remove the nearly 2-inch clot and that the surgery went “very well.”

McCain was recuperating at his home in Arizona. Pathology reports on the clot were expected in the next several days.

The Republican National Committee assailed a member who shared a social media post encouraging McCain to “just die already.”

The message came Monday from Republican national committeewoman Diana Orrock of Nevada. Orrock tweeted, “Amen,” in response to another Twitter user who had written, “Please Just (expletive) Die Already” above the hashtag “JohnMcCain.”

RNC spokesman Ryan Mahoney called Orrock’s tweet “extremely inappropriate.”