(CNSNews.com) - If he's elected president, Republican Sen. John McCain says he would want Democrat Andrew Cuomo to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission.
McCain, who has called for Republican SEC chief Chris Cox to resign, made the comment on the CBS program "60 Minutes" Sunday night.
"I'm curious," CBS Correspondent Scott Pelley told McCain. "If you want to fire Chris Cox, the chairman of the SEC, who would you replace him with?"
McCain responded: "This may sound a little unusual, but I've admired Andrew Cuomo. I think he is somebody who could restore some credibility, lend some bipartisanship to this effort.”
Pelley: "He's a Democrat."
McCain: "Oh, yes."
Pelley: "He served in the cabinet of President Clinton."
McCain: "Yes. And he did a good job. And he has respect. And he has prestige."
McCain also said the Bush administration deserves some of the blame for the financial crisis that has rocked Wall Street -- and by extension, Main Street.
"I say the Bush administration has failed. I say the Congress has failed, Democrats and Republicans. I remind you the Democrats have had the majority in Congress for the last two years. So everybody's failed. And the cozy, old-boy, special interests that have prevailed in Washington have harmed the American people, frankly, in the most terrible fashion."
McCain continues to insist that he will cut taxes for everybody if he is elected president
"I think the major point here is that spending got out of control," McCain said in the “60 Minutes” interview.
He noted that Republicans, in six of the last eight years, have presided over the biggest increase in government since the Great Society. "Republicans came to power to change Washington. And Washington changed us," he said.
McCain said it would be "easy" to cut the budget, starting with agencies that are "outmoded." "Obviously I would scrub defense spending. Obviously we would look at every institution of government. I would stop these protectionist tariffs. I would stop subsidizing sugar."
"Did I just hear you say you’re going to cut the defense budget?" Pelley asked.
"I think there's areas in Defense where we can save a lot of money in cost over runs," McCain said.