Scaramucci fired by Trump for 'inappropriate' comments
White House communications chief removed from office after ten days
Donald Trump has sacked Anthony Scaramucci, the White House communications director, ten days after his appointment.
The US President took the decision "at the urging of new White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly", says the Washington Post, which calls it "a clear sign" that Kelly is "being empowered to manage what has been an unwieldy West Wing operation".
Scaramucci hit the headlines last week after attacking several senior White House officials and saying he planned to "fire them all".
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Reince Priebus, then chief of staff, "left shortly after the rant in which Mr. Scaramucci accused him of undermining the President through leaks of information to reporters", the New York Times reports.
Scaramucci reserved his most vivid critique for Trump's director of strategy, telling the New Yorker: "I'm not Steve Bannon. I'm not trying to suck my own c**k… I'm not trying to build my own brand off the f*****g strength of the President."
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said last night: "The President certainly felt Anthony's comments were inappropriate for a person in that position."
Scaramucci's "unusually short tenure" comes at "a moment of extreme turbulence in the White House", says the Los Angeles Times, adding that Trump's senior team has been "embroiled in infighting as it confronts low poll numbers for the President, a floundering legislative agenda and the investigations involving Russian meddling in last year's presidential election".
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
However, other White House media chiefs have had shorter times in office.
John O Koehler, chief communicator for Ronald Reagan in March 1987, lasted less than a week after it was revealed "he had been a member of a Nazi youth group when he was 10", the Washington Post reports.
-
Political cartoons for January 19Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include Greenland tariffs, fighting the Fed, and more
-
Spain’s deadly high-speed train crashThe Explainer The country experienced its worst rail accident since 2013, with the death toll of 39 ‘not yet final’
-
Can Starmer continue to walk the Trump tightrope?Today's Big Question PM condemns US tariff threat but is less confrontational than some European allies
-
Can Starmer continue to walk the Trump tightrope?Today's Big Question PM condemns US tariff threat but is less confrontational than some European allies
-
A new serif in town: Trump’s font culture warIn the Spotlight As the State Department shifts from Calibri to Times New Roman, is this just a ‘typographic dispute’, or the ‘latest battleground’ of a culture war
-
Trump threatens Minnesota with Insurrection ActSpeed Read The law was passed in 1807 but has rarely been used
-
Why is Trump threatening defense firms?Talking Points CEO pay and stock buybacks will be restricted
-
‘The security implications are harder still to dismiss’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Judge clears wind farm construction to resumeSpeed Read The Trump administration had ordered the farm shuttered in December over national security issues
-
Trump DOJ targets Fed’s Powell, drawing pushbackSpeed Read Powell called the investigation ‘unprecedented’
-
What are Donald Trump’s options in Iran?Today's Big Question Military strikes? Regime overthrow? Cyberattacks? Sanctions? How can the US help Iranian protesters?