A White House official mocked Sen. John McCain‘s brain cancer diagnosis just three weeks after the politician underwent surgery for an intestinal infection.
The remarks were made Thursday morning, one day after the Republican announced he opposed President Donald Trump‘s nominee for CIA director, Gina Haspel.
“It doesn’t matter, he’s dying anyway,” Special assistant Kelly Sadler said during a closed-door meeting at the White House, according to The Hill.
The White House responded to the comments in a statement obtained by PEOPLE, saying, “We respect Senator McCain’s Service to our nation and he and his family are in our prayers during this difficult time.”
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McCain’s wife, Cindy, 63, tweeted at Sadler on Thursday, writing, “@kellysadler45 May I remind you my husband has a family, 7 children and 5 grandchildren.”
The couple’s daughter and The View co-host, Meghan McCain, retweeted her mother’s message. Earlier on Thursday, she also shared a black and white photo of herself with her father in which she sat on his lap as a little girl.
“#TBT – I’ve always wanted in on the action…. Love you so much Dad,” Meghan, 33, wrote, adding both a heart emoji and an American flag emoji.
McCain, 81, was diagnosed with brain cancer in July 2017 after undergoing a surgery to remove a blood clot above his eye last summer. He was hospitalized in December to treat side effects related to his cancer therapy.
More recently, McCain underwent surgery in…
