Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) said Sunday that he likely will back the financial rescue deal agreed to early Sunday morning by Congress and the Bush administration.

“I’d like to see the details, but hopefully yes — and from the outlines that I have read of it — that this is something that all of us will swallow hard and go forward with,” McCain said. “The option of doing nothing is simply not an acceptable option.”

McCain, who appeared on ABC’s “This Week,” was asked whether the agreement met the “principles” that he said it had to include. “Yes, yes, protect the taxpayer, make sure that there isn’t excessive compensation for CEOs, an oversight body, not leaving all the decisions in the hands of one individual,” he said.

With McCain apparently accepting the deal, he and his opponent, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), appear to be on board as the legislation gets set to move through Congress and to President Bush’s desk. The White House has signaled Bush will likely agree to it.

McCain also sought to defend his controversial decision to suspend his campaign and return to Washington, D.C., to help broker a deal. Democrats have alleged it was a political stunt that set back the talks.

“I got to get in the arena when America needs it, and if that judgment wants to be made whether I helped or hurt, I’ll be glad to accept the judgment of history,” McCain said. “But I’m never going to not get engaged when the taxpayers and middle class of America are in danger of losing everything literally that they’ve worked all their lives for. I’m going to be out working on it.”