The Hill News

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Sunday that Republican plans to cut $100 billion in spending in an upcoming bill to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year are “realistic.”

“I think a lot of it is realistic,” McCain said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

But the spending bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where Democrats still hold a majority. Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) slammed the House GOP proposal Friday, calling it “ineffective.”

House GOP leadership upped the legislation’s spending cuts to $100 billion compared with President Obama’s 2011 budget request after Tea Party freshmen demanded steeper cuts.

McCain said Tea Party freshmen are simply doing what their constituents want. “They are complying with the wishes of the people that elected them,” he said. But he added that some of the House Republicans’ cuts may not be necessary.

“Maybe [Te! a Part freshmen] can go back and educate their voters that it may not be totally necessary,” he said.