Sen. John McCain is known as one of the most grizzled and dedicated elected officials in the United States Senate. On Tuesday (September 3) afternoon however, McCain was seen goofing off on his iPhone during a lengthy Senate hearing regarding the tense situation in Syria.
Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey led the hearing and testified on whether military force should be used against war-torn Syria in response to President Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons on the general populace.
The Washington Post was present at the hearing, and a reporter from the paper snapped a photo of Sen. McCain playing poker on his smartphone then posted the image to the paper’s blog.
The photo made its way around Twitter and social media, which prompted the Arizona senator to respond in a wry fashion via his Twitter account. “Scandal! Caught playing iPhone game at 3+ hour Senate hearing – worst of all I lost,” tweeted McCain.
Despite the senator’s humorous hit back, the United States has reported that 1,429 people, including 426 children, were killed as a result of an apparent chemical attack, which France says was enacted by the Syrian government in an area near the country’s capital, Damascus.
President Barack Obama has urged Congress to back him in carrying out a missile strike against Assad’s military regime – a plan McCain once supported but has since elected to back away from.
Hit the next page to see McCain hard at work during the Syria hearing.
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Photo: Washington Post
