"The person who said that should apologize and should apologize publicly," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo McConnell: White House aide should apologize publicly for McCain crack

A White House aide who made a rude joke about Sen. John McCain's health last week should apologize, but Republican senators didn't raise the issue with President Donald Trump at a lunch meeting, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday.

White House communications aide Kelly Sadler said in a private meeting that the Arizona Republican's opposition to CIA director nominee Gina Haspel "doesn't matter" because "he's dying anyway." Neither Trump nor the White House has apologized for the remark, though a spokesman said Sadler had contacted the McCain family directly.


"The person who said that should apologize and should apologize publicly," McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters.

McConnell visited McCain over the weekend at his home in Sedona, Arizona, where he has been recovering from cancer treatment.

