Secretary of State John Kerry hugs Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) as he arrives for a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on military intervention in Syria, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on September 3, 2013. UPI/Kevin Dietsch | License Photo

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) (center), Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) (left) talk prior to a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on military intervention in Syria, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on September 3, 2013. UPI/Kevin Dietsch | License Photo

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) (center) talks to Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) prior to a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on military intervention in Syria, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on September 3, 2013. UPI/Kevin Dietsch | License Photo

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) (L) grabs Assistant Senate Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL) as they talk prior to a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on military intervention in Syria, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on September 3, 2013. UPI/Kevin Dietsch | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- That look Sen. John McCain had in a U.S. Senate hearing on President Obama's authorization request for a military response in Syria was really a poker face.

A Washington Post photographer caught the Arizona Republican playing poker on his iPhone during a hours-long Foreign Relations Committee hearing Tuesday when Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel explaining the rationale behind Obama's request for a limited military response to evidence that Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime used chemical weapons on his people.


Even McCain commented about his virtual card game, posting on his Twitter page: "Scandal! Caught playing iPhone game at 3+ hour Senate hearing -- worst of all I lost!"

During an appearance on CNN, McCain said, "As much as I like always listening in rapt attention constantly [to the] remarks of my colleagues over a three-and-a-half-hour period, occasionally I get a little bored, but the worst thing is I lost thousands of dollars in this game ... thousands and thousands of fake dollars."