President Donald Trump says McCain is returning home to Arizona after being hospitalized over the side... (Associated Press) FILE - In this Dec. 1, 2017 file photo, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., leaves a closed-door session where Republican senators met on the GOP effort to overhaul the tax code, on Capitol Hill in Washington.... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. John McCain is returning home to Arizona after being hospitalized for the side effects of his brain cancer treatment and likely will miss a crucial vote on the GOP tax package, President Donald Trump said Sunday. Trump told reporters he had spoken to McCain's wife, Cindy, after her husband had spent about a week at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland. "They've headed back, but I understand he'll come if we ever needed his vote, which hopefully we won't," Trump said after returning to the White House from Camp David. "But the word is that John will come back if we need his vote. He's going through a very tough time, there's no question about it. A statement issued last Wednesday by the senator's office said he was at Walter Reed receiving treatment for the "normal side effects of his ongoing cancer therapy." His daughter Meghan McCain tweeted Sunday: "My father is doing well and we are all looking forward to spending Christmas together in Arizona." McCain's vote scuttled the seven-year effort by the GOP to dismantle much of President Barack Obama's health care law. The following October, his plane was shot down during a bombing mission over Hanoi. McCain is unlikely to return to Washington this year, one of the sources said.
– Sen. John McCain has gone home to Arizona to recover from the side effects of chemotherapy, meaning he's likely to miss a vote on the Republican tax reform plan expected this week. After days of speculation about the 81-year-old senator's health, daughter Meghan McCain tweeted Sunday that he's doing well and will be spending Christmas in Arizona, reports the Arizona Republic. McCain, who has an aggressive form of brain cancer, was hospitalized last week at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland for what his office called "normal side effects of his ongoing cancer therapy." A source tells CNN that it was a "good sign" that McCain was able to board a plane to Arizona. McCain's office released a statement thanking well-wishers and saying he looks forward to returning to Washington in January. National Cancer Institute neuro-oncology chief Mark Gilbert said the senator is continuing to improve after being treated for a viral infection. President Trump said Sunday night that McCain was likely to miss the tax vote but would return if needed, the AP reports. "They've headed back, but I understand he'll come if we ever needed his vote, which hopefully we won't," he said. "It's too bad. He's going through a very tough time, there's no question about it. But he will come back if we need his vote." Trump also confirmed that he's not planning to fire Robert Mueller, though he said he's unhappy with how the investigation is being handled, USA Today reports.