White House aide who mocked McCain pushed out over tensions with Mercedes Schlapp: report

Kelly Sadler, the White House aide who mocked Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) failing health, was pushed out of her position because she told President Trump that White House strategic communications director Mercedes Schlapp was the one who leaked her comments to the media, two sources told The New York Times.

According to White House aides, the tension between Schlapp and Sadler had gotten to the point where they couldn’t be in the same room together, the Times reported.

CNN first reported Tuesday that Sadler was no longer working at the White House.

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In recent weeks, the White House had been planning the best way for Sadler to exit, according to an administration official who spoke with CNN. It still remains unclear if Sadler is leaving the administration or being relocated.

At an internal meeting last month, Sadler had said that McCain’s opposition to President Trump’s then-nominee for CIA director, Gina Haspel, didn’t matter because he’s “dying anyway.”

Her comments triggered heavy criticism and an effort inside the West Wing to identify people leaking to the press.

Sadler reportedly told Trump at an Oval Office meeting that Schlapp was behind several leaks while Schlapp was in the room.

The reported tensions are a departure from Schlapp’s previous support for Sadler.

“You can put this on the record… I stand with Kelly Sadler,” she said after news of Sadler’s comments were made public, according to Axios.

Sadler’s exit comes after accusations from McCain’s daughter, Meghan McCain, that Sadler had apologized to her privately and then promised to do so publicly but failed to ever do so.