Sen. John McCain is planning to shift the CIA’s secretive drone program to the Defense Department through the National Defense Authorization Act, setting the stage for a fight later this year with Senate Intelligence leaders and making him an unlikely ally of President Barack Obama. The Arizona Republican has been particularly critical of the program under the CIA’s watch following recent revelations that a drone strike in January in Pakistan killed American aid worker Warren Weinstein and Italian aid worker Giovanni Lo Porto.
"We'll be looking at some kind of legislation on the defense authorization bill to see that that accelerates," McCain said. "I'm the chairman of the Armed Services Committee. We will be doing something in the NDAA."