Meghan McCain still waiting for public apology for White House aide's comment about her father

A White House aide who made disparaging comments about Arizona Sen. John McCain has yet to follow through on her reported promise to publicly apologize, McCain's daughter told ABC News on Sunday.

Meghan McCain has said that White House staffer Kelly Sadler told her she would apologize publicly for the callous remarks she made about the 81-year-old Republican senator, who has been battling brain cancer.

"When I had a conversation with Kelly, I asked her to publicly apologize and she said she would," Meghan McCain, a co-host on ABC's "The View," said Sunday. "I have not spoken to her since and I assume that it will never come."

During a closed-door White House meeting last week Sadler said that Sen. McCain's opposition to President Donald Trump's nomination of Gina Haspel as CIA director "doesn't matter, he's dying anyway." The comment was leaked to the media.

Meghan McCain said Sadler apologized to her and her family in a private phone conversation.

When asked about a public apology, White House officials have referenced Sadler's private apology to Meghan McCain. Sadler and the White House have not gone further in their response.

John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released a statement on Wednesday calling for a no vote on Haspel's confirmation because she didn't address concerns over her involvement in the so-called enhanced interrogation program during the administration of President George W. Bush.

"I believe Gina Haspel is a patriot who loves our country and has devoted her professional life to its service and defense," McCain said in his statement. "However, Ms. Haspel's role in overseeing the use of torture by Americans is disturbing. Her refusal to acknowledge torture's immorality is disqualifying. I believe the Senate should exercise its duty of advice and consent and reject this nomination."

McCain, a former Navy aviator who endured 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam in the 1970s, was diagnosed in July with a form of brain cancer known as glioblastoma.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders scolded her staff on Friday for the derogatory comment about John McCain, which was leaked from the closed-door meeting, multiple senior White House officials told ABC News.

Sanders called the comment "unacceptable," but was said to be more upset about the leak than the off-handed comment from Sadler about John McCain, the sources said.

A day after the Sadler's comment became public, Meghan McCain said on "The View" that she was surprised Sadler could come to "work the next day and still have a job."

Former Vice President Joe Biden released a statement saying Sadler's comment about his close friend John McCain showed when "decency would hit rock bottom with this administration."