The White House declined to comment Friday about a purported remark about Sen. John McCain by a communications staffer.
"I'm not going to comment on an internal staff meeting," press secretary Sarah Sanders said of Kelly Sadler's remark that McCain, who is being treated for brain cancer, is "dying."
Sanders confirmed Sadler still works at the White House.
On Thursday, Sadler, a special assistant who handles surrogate communications, told other staffers that McCain's opposition to President Donald Trump's CIA director nominee, Gina Haspel, does not matter because "he's dying anyway," a White House official told CNN.
The official said Sadler meant it as a joke, "but it fell flat."
Meghan McCain, the senator's daughter, responded to Sadler's comment Friday on ABC's "The View."
"Kelly, here's a little news flash ... we're all dying. I'm dying, you're dying, we're all dying. And I want to say, since my dad has been diagnosed ... I really feel like I understand the meaning of life, and it is not how you die, it's how you live," she said.
She added, "Don't feel bad for me or my family. We're really strong."
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