Sen. John McCain says he will work, as incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, to strengthen the United States' damaged reputation and lackluster foreign policy around the world.
"The United States has never looked weaker in the world, in the 20th or 21st centuries," McCain, an Arizona Republican and the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, said Monday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV.
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"I would work closely with [Sen.] Bob Corker, who's going to be chairman of Foreign Relations, [Sen.] Richard Burr, who is going to be the chairman of Intelligence, [Sen.] Ron Johnson at Homeland Security, and [Sen.] Lindsey Graham, who's going to play a key role in appropriations.
"We're all going to work together. We're going to have a common agenda. We're going to try to get this nation back on the right course again."
McCain is expected to be tapped as chairman when the GOP takes control of the Senate in January after last week's sweeping Republican victory in the midterm elections.
His first order of business?
"My first priority is repeal sequestration, which is harming our military terribly."
McCain said the nation is vulnerable because of weak leadership.
"People like the Iranians are encouraged by weakness, just as [Russian President] Vladimir Putin is now practicing more adventurism in Ukraine, taking over more areas, reports of tanks and artillery going into Ukraine," McCain said.
Asked whether the president could sign an arms deal with Iran, the senator responded:
"He thinks that he can, but what we want to do in the Senate is pass a resolution, a binding resolution, requiring advice and consent of the Senate.
"Just the fact that we are agreeing that they have the right to enrich [uranium] is a concession that sooner or later means that they will have a nuclear weapon, and that they're not complying with the requests of the IAEA [Internation Atomic Energy Agency].
"They have this crazy idea that if they get this nuclear agreement with Iran, then Iran will side with us against ISIS and in all kinds of areas."
McCain — author, with Mark Salter, of the new book
"Thirteen Soldiers: A Personal History of Americans at War," published by Simon & Schuster — isn't convinced.
"Do you really believe that of this people? It's just out of touch with reality of who these people are," he said.
"They're the ones that support Hezbollah, they're the ones that support terrorists, they're the ones that have done everything, all kinds of things. They're the ones who support Hamas."