Sean Spicer Resigns as White House Press Secretary
President Donald Trump’s first press secretary, Sean Spicer, has reportedly resigned his post over objections to the new White House communications director, Anthony Scaramucci.
Trump offered Scaramucci the job on Friday morning. Spicer resigned shortly thereafter, having told Trump that the appointment was a major mistake, the New York Times reported, citing “a person with direct knowledge of the exchange.”
The resignation has not been officially confirmed, however, and Spicer’s name remains on the White House press secretary’s Twitter account as of 12:15pm Friday.
Scaramucci is a Wall Street financier and longtime Trump supporter. Last month, CNN accused him of ties with the CEO of a Russian investment fund, but subsequently retracted the story in full, apologized to Scaramucci, and fired the three reporters and editors involved.
Formerly a spokesman for the Republican Party, Spicer had a rocky relationship with the White House press corps from day one, when he called into question reports of the crowd size at Trump’s inauguration. He was also often lampooned by Saturday Night Live, along with the president himself.
Spicer’s televised White House appearances eventually gave way to off-camera, audio-only briefings, broadcast on a time-delay. His last on-camera appearance was June 26. His deputy, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, has taken up the duties of the principal White House spokesperson since. Spicer’s last press briefing was on July 17.
Spicer also served as the White House communications director from January to March, when GOP public relations operative Mike Dubke was appointed to the post. Dubke resigned without an explanation at the beginning of June.
