Article snippet: A White House official mocked Sen. MORE’s nominee for CIA director, Gina Haspel. Special assistant Kelly Sadler made the derisive comments during a closed-door White House meeting of about two-dozen communications staffers on Thursday morning. “It doesn’t matter, he’s dying anyway,” Sadler said, according to a source familiar with the remarks at the meeting. The White House did not deny the account of Sadler’s remarks, which came amid a discussion of Haspel’s nomination and McCain’s opposition to it. “We respect Senator McCain’s service to our nation and he and his family are in our prayers during this difficult time,” the White House said in a statement to The Hill. Sadler did not respond to a request for comment and the White House did not make her available to The Hill. A source later told The Hill that Sadler called the senator's daughter Meghan McCain to apologize. The Thursday morning meeting was led by deputy press secretary Raj Shah. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was not present. White House counselor MORE showed up to the meeting after the remark was made, according to the first source. A source who heard Sadler’s remarks could not confirm her exact wording, but agreed that Sadler made comments along the lines described by the first source. Both sources said they believed the comment was intended as a joke, but that it did not go over well with others at the meeting. There was “discomfort” in the room after Sadler’s comment and the conversation... Link to the full article to read more