--- title: John McCain Undergoes Surgery for Intestinal Infection description: Republican senator John McCain received surgery due to an intestinal infection linked to his colon, his office announced Monday canonical: https://time.com/5242606/john-mccain-surgery-intestinal-infection-stable/ author: Casey Quackenbush article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-17T03:55:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:59:23.260Z article:section: Politics og:title: John McCain In 'Stable Condition' After Surgery in Arizona og:description: The Republican senator needed surgery for an intestinal infection og:url: https://time.com/5242606/john-mccain-surgery-intestinal-infection-stable/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt230d4c9c064850ae/69892dcb0a4a2233009d26a4/gettyimages-883011402.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Senator John McCain Says He Will Support Senate Tax Reform Bill og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: John McCain In 'Stable Condition' After Surgery in Arizona twitter:description: The Republican senator needed surgery for an intestinal infection twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt230d4c9c064850ae/69892dcb0a4a2233009d26a4/gettyimages-883011402.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # John McCain Is in 'Stable Condition' Following Surgery to Treat an Intestinal Infection > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=056ffe51-ee3f-4cde-a3d9-036d9ca7b117&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Casey Quackenbush](https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Apr 17, 2018 3:55 AM UTC  Senator John McCain during a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 30, 2017. Senator John McCain during a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 30, 2017. Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Casey Quackenbush](https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Apr 17, 2018 3:55 AM UTC Sen. John McCain has [undergone](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2018/04/16/john-mccain-has-surgery-after-intestinal-infection-aides-say-hes-in-stable-condition/?noredirect=on&utm%5Fterm=.a32177523f68) surgery due to an intestinal infection, his office announced Monday. A statement said that Republican senator, who has been fighting brain cancer since a diagnosis last year, is hospitalized in a “stable condition,” The Washington _Post_ reports. McCain, 81, is being treated at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona for an infection linked to diverticulitis, which occurs when pouches form on the walls of the colon. Last July, McCain was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an intense form of brain cancer that also afflicted the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Beau Biden, the son of former vice president Joe Biden. While undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, McCain regularly attended Congress. But since December, the senator has been recovering from the effects of the treatment at his home in Arizona. McCain’s office issues frequent updates on his health, but it has not said when or if the senator will return to Washington, the _Post_ reports. > [](https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/986007760499228672) His daughter, Meghan McCain, tweeted that her father “continues to inspire me everyday with his intense grit and determination.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5242606/john-mccain-surgery-intestinal-infection-stable/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5242606/john-mccain-surgery-intestinal-infection-stable/"},"headline":"John McCain Is in 'Stable Condition' Following Surgery to Treat an Intestinal Infection","datePublished":"2018-04-17T03:55:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:59:23.260Z","description":"The Republican senator needed surgery for an infection linked to his colon","url":"https://time.com/5242606/john-mccain-surgery-intestinal-infection-stable/","keywords":["John McCain","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt230d4c9c064850ae/69892dcb0a4a2233009d26a4/gettyimages-883011402.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Casey Quackenbush","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt230d4c9c064850ae/69892dcb0a4a2233009d26a4/gettyimages-883011402.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Senator John McCain Says He Will Support Senate Tax Reform Bill","caption":"Senator John McCain Says He Will Support Senate Tax Reform Bill","creditText":"Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/john-mccain/","name":"John McCain"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5242606/john-mccain-surgery-intestinal-infection-stable/","name":"John McCain Is in 'Stable Condition' Following Surgery to Treat an Intestinal Infection"}}]}] ```