The Guardian: White House aide dismissed McCain's views because 'he's dying anyway'

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White House aide dismissed McCain's views because 'he's dying anyway' – report

In closed-door meeting, Kelly Sadler reportedly said McCain’s opposition to Trump’s CIA nominee didn’t matter

Associated Press

Fri 11 May 2018 01.59 BST
Last modified on Fri 11 May 2018 13.15 BST

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The White House did not dispute the remark attributed to Kelly Sadler.
The White House did not dispute the remark attributed to Kelly Sadler. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

A White House official reportedly made what some saw as an insensitive comment about the ailing Arizona senator John McCain at a staff meeting on Thursday, and McCain’s wife quickly came to his defense on Twitter.

The official, Kelly Sadler, was discussing McCain’s opposition to Donald Trump’s nominee for CIA director, Gina Haspel, when she allegedly claimed “it doesn’t matter” because “he’s dying anyway”.

That is according to a person in the room who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door meeting.
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The White House did not dispute the remark but said in a statement: “We respect Senator McCain’s service to our nation and he and his family are in our prayers during this difficult time.”

The Hill newspaper first reported the comment.

Cindy McCain responded a few hours later with a tweet tagged to Sadler: “May I remind you my husband has a family, 7 children and 5 grandchildren.”

Sadler is a special assistant to the president. She did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday evening.

The 81-year-old senator was diagnosed in July with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. He left Washington in December and underwent surgery last month for an infection.
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