White House counselor Kellyanne Conway suggested Wednesday that recently ousted communications aide Kelly Sadler, who mocked Sen. John McCain’s health, could find another job within the Trump administration.
“Kelly Sadler has been told there are other administration jobs that fit with her skill set and her experience, and that the rest is really her choice, what she would like to do next,” Conway told CNN.
The White House confirmed Tuesday that Sadler, who served as special assistant to the president, was no longer employed “within the Executive Office of the President” after CNN reported she had quietly left her post at the White House.
Sadler made disparaging comments about McCain’s health during a meeting with fellow White House communications staffers last month, saying McCain’s vote for the president’s nominee for CIA director, Gina Haspel, wasn’t needed because “he’s dying anyway.”
The comment was subsequently leaked to the press, and many Republican and Democratic senators came to McCain’s defense and condemned Sadler’s remark.
[Also read: Meghan McCain torches White House aide who made disparaging remarks about John McCain]
Sadler reportedly went on to accuse Mercedes Schlapp, White House director of strategic communications, of being behind leaks to the media during a meeting with President Trump.
When asked whether Sadler’s removal stemmed from her accusing White House officials of leaking, Conway said during a breakfast Wednesday hosted by the Christian Science Monitor that “nobody has told me what the specific reason is.”
“And I wouldn’t comment on it even if I did know,” she told reporters during the breakfast.
Conway confirmed to CNN that Sadler “no longer works on this complex,” referring to the White House complex, but would not say whether the former White House aide was let go because of her comments about McCain.
She did, however, say there are other jobs within the Trump administration that are open to Sadler.
“There are other administration jobs open to her and to others who would like to interview for those jobs,” Conway said of Sadler.
Reporter Gabby Morrongiello contributed to this report.
