Sen. McCain: Sen. Portman would be good for Super Committee

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) would be a good candidate for the so-called Super Committee charged with making $1.5 trillion worth of cuts to the federal deficit.

"I’m not making the decisions but one of my candidates would be Rob Portman, former head of [Office of Management and Budget]. A very sober, knowledgeable person, I think those are the kind of people that are going to be on this committee," McCain told Neil Cavuto Tuesday on Fox News.

Prior to becoming a senator, Portman served as the head of the Office of Management and Budget in former President George W. Bush's administration. Portman also reportedly played a major role behind the scenes in the negotiations on a compromise to increase the debt ceiling.

Earlier on Tuesday President Obama signed into law the Budget Control Act, the resulting legislation from the compromise Obama and congressional leaders announced on Sunday, the House passed on Monday, and the Senate passed Tuesday shortly before Obama signed it into law — less than 24 hours before the deadline when the Treasury Department said the U.S. economy would default if the debt ceiling was not raised.

The law raises the debt ceiling by $2.1 trillion and includes a provision that creates a joint, bicameral committee, dubbed the "Super Committee," of legislators charged with finding the additional $1.5 trillion in deficit cuts.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will choose three House Republicans and three Senate Republicans for the committee, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will choose three House Democrats and three Senate Democrats.