US President Donald Trump has dismissed his recently appointed communications director, Anthony Scaramucci.
Citing three unidentified people close to the decision, The New York Times initially made the announcement Monday.
“Anthony Scaramucci will be leaving his role as White House communications director,” said press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in a statement later in the day. “Mr Scaramucci felt it was best to give chief of staff John Kelly a clean slate and the ability to build his own team. We wish him all the best.”
The announcement followed the appointment of General John Kelly as the White House chief of staff.
“General Kelly has the full authority to operate in the White House and all staff will report to him,” Sanders said.
The abrupt removal of the controversial figure after 10 days of a crude verbal tirade against other senior staff indicated the tensions rising within Trump’s inner circle.
“Firing The Mooch sends a great signal that the adults are now in charge at the White House,” said one senior House Republican who supports Trump. “The president is serious about a reset and an end to the chaos. It’s a great first start for Kelly.”
Scaramucci (pictured below), who played a key role in the dismissal of the former chief of staff, Reince Priebus, boasted about reporting directly to the president rather than through the chief of staff.
Scaramucci’s profane language, calling Priebus “a f***ing paranoid schizophrenic” once, was shocking even by the standards of the Trump era.
It was not clear whether the 53 year old, nicknamed ‘the Mooch,’ would be assigned to a different post or leave the White House altogether.
Amid the shake-up of the top staff, Kelly, a 67-year-old retired Marine general is now tasked with the leadership of the White House.
“I am pleased to inform you that I have just named General/Secretary John F Kelly as White House Chief of Staff,” Trump tweeted earlier in the day. “He is a Great American… and a Great Leader. John has also done a spectacular job at Homeland Security. He has been a true star of my Administration.”
