Sean Spicer resigns as press secretary of the White House. He delivered the news this morning after informing President Trump that he strongly disagreed with his decision to appoint Anthony Scaramucci to the post of communications director.
Sean Spicer resigns
A source with direct knowledge of the matter reportedly told The New York Times that Spicer had told the President that he felt it was a huge mistake to appoint Scaramucci to the position. Despite that, Trump offered the New York financier the post at around 10 a.m. He also asked Spicer to stay on as White House press secretary, but Spicer reportedly refused.
Spicer’s time as press secretary for the White House has certainly had its ups and downs, so it probably doesn’t come as a shock for most who have followed the happenings within the Trump administration. Spicer had been handling some of the responsibilities of the post Scaramucci has been appointed to fill, so the two would have had to work closely.
Who is Anthony Scaramucci?
Anthony Scaramucci has had a varied career, and he currently serves as a senior vice president and chief strategy officer for the U.S. Export-Import Bank. He was a member of Trump’s transition team after the presidential election, and Trump has been trying to get Scaramucci a position within his administration since January when he announced that he planned to appoint the financier to the post of White House Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs.
However, there was a delay in his swearing-in when the Office of Government Ethics reviewed his finances, although the office did say that it wasn’t necessary that someone be cleared before actually being appointed to serve in the White House. Eventually, George Sifakis was named to serve in the post.
Only a matter of time before Sean Spicer resigns
There have been rumors that Spicer was about to resign for quite some time. During Trump’s earliest days in the White House Spicer was frequently on the receiving end of his anger, so perhaps what is more surprising is that the news that Sean Spicer resigns didn’t happen earlier than this.
According to the NYT, Trump was initially skeptical about Spicer’s loyalty and thus was hesitant about appointing him to the role of White House press secretary. However, his chief of staff Reince Priebus convinced him that Spicer was the man for the job. Like Spicer, Priebus also opposed the appointment of Scaramucci to the position of communications director, according to the newspaper.
However, CNN reports that after his appointment was announced, Priebus said, “I support Anthony 100%. We go back a long, long way and are very good friends—all good here.”
A fresh controversy for the Trump administration
However, Trump reportedly believed that Scaramucci was the best choice, and Scaramucci has appeared on cable TV to defend the President several times already. The President was also said to have become frustrated with how much time it was taking Priebus to find a replacement for Mike Dubke, who resigned as communications director two months ago.
And so Sean Spicer resigns the same day Trump asked him to be subordinate to Scaramucci. The President’s daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross do support his choice for communications director, however.
