The White House aide who infamously remarked about Sen. John McCain's, R-Ariz., failing health – amid his no-confidence stance in CIA Director-nominee Gina Haspel's Senate confirmation hearings – reportedly promised an apology to the family.
Kelly Sadler's apology has yet to come Sunday and "I assume that it will never come," daughter Meghan McCain told ABC News.
According to a White House leak, Sadler denounced McCain's stance against Haspel's confirmation due to her failure to rebuke the now-outlawed terror interrogation strategies employed by CIA agents overseas during Haspel's tenure.
McCain, himself a former prisoner of war, is a hardliner against the CIA's past torture interrogation techniques.
"He's dying anyway," Sadler reportedly said in a heavily criticized comment that was leaked from a private White House huddle late this week.
Despite McCain's public stance and urging the Senate to vote against Haspel's confirmation, it is unlikely he will be present for the actual vote.
Amid a health absence last summer, McCain did surprise the Senate in returning to vote on a potential GOP repeal and replacement of Obamacare – and even more shockingly, McCain sided with Democrats in casting the deciding vote to reject the Republicans' "skinny repeal" of former President Barack Obama's signature healthcare legislation.
The GOP holds just a 51-49 advantage in the Senate, and 60 votes are needed to confirm Haspel as the next CIA director, replacing current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Without McCain's vote and Sen. Rand Paul's, R-Ky., vow to vote against Haspel, a party-line vote would be 49-49, meaning the GOP will need to lure 11 Democrats to support Haspel's nomination.
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