Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) gently mocked Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) about speculation the former Democratic presidential nominee could be named the next secretary of State — and earned a playful rebuke from the Massachusetts lawmaker.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary," McCain said after Kerry finished addressing reporters about a pending vote on a disabilities treaty.
Kerry has been rumored, alongside U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, to be at the top of President Obama's list of potential replacements for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she resigns at the end of the president's first term. McCain, who has been a vocal critic of Rice's response to the terror attack in Benghazi, Libya, has offered praise for Kerry in recent weeks.
Kerry, perhaps sensitive to the perception he was openly lobbying for the job, returned to the podium — and returned fire at McCain.
"Thank you very much, Mr. President," Kerry quipped, in reference to McCain's failed presidential bids in 2000 and 2008.
"This is what happens when you get two losers up here, folks," Kerry, who lost the 2004 presidential election, continued on. "We're just having fun."
