White House turmoil worsens with Scaramucci’s sacking
STATES: Anthony Scaramucci, the brash New Yorker who was announced just 10 days ago as US President Donald Trump’s incoming communications director, was ousted yesterday as new White House Chief of Staff John F Kelly moved quickly to exert control over a chaotic administration.
Kelly pulled Scaramucci aside and told him he was out of the job that he hadn’t yet officially assumed, according to a person close to the White House.
This came just after Kelly, the former Homeland Security secretary, was sworn in as chief of staff to replace the displaced Reince Priebus - and a few hours after Trump had tweeted ‘‘No WH chaos!’’.
While Scaramucci’s time at the centre of the president’s circle was short, it was consequential,
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prompting Priebus’s departure last Friday and, a week before that, Sean Spicer’s resignation as White House press secretary. Scaramucci also pushed out an assistant press secretary, Michael Short, who resigned after Scaramucci accused him of leaking.
Priebus and Spicer had counselled Trump against appointing Scaramucci, given what they considered his unsuitability for the job.
Scaramucci, a former hedge fund executive who enjoyed the limelight, had come on strong in his brief tenure, which was highlighted by a profane tirade against Priebus and White House strategist Stephen Bannon in an exchange last week with a reporter for the New Yorker magazine.
In a statement announcing the development, the White House said Scaramucci ’’felt it was best to give Chief of Staff John Kelly a clean slate and the ability to build his own team’’. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump took issue with Scaramucci’s conduct and ‘‘found it inappropriate for a person in that position’’.
The abrupt shift, however, seemed to reflect Kelly’s arrival. The mission for the retired Marine general is to bring order to the chain of command within the White House, and getting rid of Scaramucci was reportedly a condition for his taking the job.
The White House’s declaration of full authority in Kelly’s hands poses a major test for Trump, who has resisted numerous attempts at imposing structure since the early days of his presidential campaign.
Scaramucci’s sacking, in the wake of other recent resignations and speculation about the fates of Bannon, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and national security adviser H R Mcmaster, reflects a moment of extreme turbulence in the White House. Staff have been embroiled in infighting as factions struggle to respond to Trump’s low poll numbers, a floundering legislative agenda, and investigations into Russian election meddling, possible Trump campaign collusion and obstruction of justice by the president.
Republican senators have publicly opposed firing Sessions, and a couple have objected to shifting him to another post.
After word spread of Scaramucci’s ouster, Spicer, who despite his resignation had stayed on to help with the transition for his replacement, walked out of his office to be greeted by a throng of reporters. ‘‘Is this a surprise party?’’ he asked.
Trump himself seemed pleased with how things had unfolded, writing on Twitter: ‘‘A great day at the White House!’’ – LA Times