GOP rep authors resolution calling for White House apology to McCain

GOP Rep. Walter Jones (N.C.) on Thursday introduced legislation that would instruct the House to call on the White House to formally apologize for a staffer’s “insensitive comments” that Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) opinion on a nominee was irrelevant because he is “dying anyway.”

Jones, a vocal critic of President Trump, rolled out the resolution after becoming outraged by comments made about McCain by White House aide Kelly Sadler and her refusal to publicly apologize, The Hill has learned.

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Last year, McCain was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, and the longtime senator is now receiving treatment at his home near Sedona, Ariz.

House Resolution 901 was introduced with one co-sponsor, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), and will now be circulated in the House.

“Whereas every family deserves dignity and respect in the trying times of a loved one’s declining health; Whereas our religious and social traditions call upon us to apologize for wrongdoing,” states the Jones resolution, which was obtained by The Hill.

“Whereas while this apology should have already taken place, it is never too late to apologize: Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the House of Representatives calls upon the White House to issue a public apology to Senator John McCain and his family for insensitive comments made by a staffer during this difficult time for the McCain family.”

Jones, the most senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, authoring the resolution is particularly noteworthy given that he’s considered a dove, while McCain, the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, is one of top military hawks on Capitol Hill.

The Sadler controversy has consumed the White House and Washington for an entire week. The Hill was first to report that during a White House meeting, Sadler, a communications aide, had dismissed McCain’s opposition to the nomination of Gina Haspel as CIA director, saying the senator’s opinion “doesn’t matter” because he’s “dying anyway.”

McCain, a Navy pilot during the Vietnam War, is considered an American hero on Capitol Hill and beyond. His plane was shot down during a combat mission; the Vietcong imprisoned and tortured McCain for five and a half years.

Sadler has personally apologized to McCain’s daughter, Meghan McCain, but has not issued a public apology. Trump, who has clashed with and disparaged McCain in the past, also has not apologized for his aide’s remarks.