Schweikert Votes To Limit U.S. Funding For Libya Operation; Grijalva and Pastor Vote Against Authorizing Operation

An interesting day in Congress today as the House defeats two Libya-related measures, and three Arizona Representatives are among those whose votes will gather attention.

First, Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-CD7) and Ed Pastor - Arizona's two Democratic Congressmen (the third, Gabrielle Giffords, is still rehabbing) - (D-CD4) voted with the majority in refusing to authorize the U.S. to participate in the NATO operation that has been proceeding in Libya since March.  All the Arizona Republicans voted against and the House vote was 123-295 against the resolution.  (The overall split among Democrats was 115-70, and the GOP split was 8-225.)  The Senate is expected to pass the authorization.

The second vote was one pushed by Speaker of the House John Boehner, to cut off funding for the ongoing operations there.  It failed 180-238, and the only member of the Arizona delegation to vote for cutting off funding was Rep. David Schweikert (R-CD5).  Arizona's other four Republicans voted with a majority of the Democrats in not cutting the funding.

The only Representative to issue a statement (so far) is Rep. Jeff Flake (R-CD6), who voted against both measures:  "“The President still has not made clear what national security objectives are being met by U.S. participation in the NATO mission or how we can justify spending hundreds of millions of dollars to fund our efforts there.  The time for debate over whether to authorize U.S. armed forces to engage in Libya was months ago, before the U.S. entered into the NATO operation."


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WATCH: Sen. John McCain On Senate Floor Yesterday Re: Libya

Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) took to the Senate floor yesterday to pass a resolution urging President Obama to take stronger action to support  the opposition in Libya.  Here is that video:

McCain's prepared remarks called on Obama to implement the much-discussed no-fly zone, to recognize the Transitional National Council, and to provide intelligence and other support to the opponents of Libya's long-time leader, Muammar Gaddafi.


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Sen. John McCain: In Praise of Gen. Petraeus, In Frustration With President Obama

Arizona Sen. John McCain took a break from the Senate Armed Services Committee's hearing with Gen. David Petraeus to praise him on Phoenix talk radio this morning, calling him one of the greatest military leaders the U.S. has ever had.

In an interview on KFYI with host Barry Young, McCain (R-AZ) noted that the top U.S./NATO commander in the ongoing war in Afghanistan is "doing a great job".  McCain acknowledged that the next 2-4 months will be very important in determining whether the U.S.-led effort is ultimately deemed successful.

McCain had nothing but praise for the general, calling him "one of the great military leaders in the history of this country," and emphasizing that he is not just talking about recent history.

In other topics covered in the interview, McCain semi-agreed with the host about President Obama's handling of the situation in Libya, throwing in his perceptions from his recent trip to Egypt, Tunisia and other countries in that part of the world.  McCain noted that many Arabs perceive that "the influence of the United States is on the decline... and perception, as we know, is reality."


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