McCain, Graham denounce Obama's shift in U.S. Cuba

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, two of the leading Republican voices on U.S. foreign policy, on Wednesday denounced President Barack Obama's plans to ease U.S. restrictions on Cuba. The policy shift reflected "America and the values it stands for in retreat and decline," they said in a statement, one of several issued by Republicans seeking to line up against the change in policy. "It is about the appeasement of autocratic dictators, thugs, and adversaries, diminishing America’s influence in the world," said McCain and Graham. The two lawmakers will hold important foreign policy positions in the Republican-majority Senate that will be seated in January. McCain will be chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Graham will lead an appropriations subcommittee that oversees State Department spending, including on a potential embassy in Havana. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)