Get used to seeing a whole lot more of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, at the podium in the West Wing’s James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.
Her former boss, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, resigned shortly after President Donald Trump decided to hire long-time ally Anthony Scaramucci to take over as White House Communications Director. News of the former Wall Street financier’s hiring broke shortly after 11:30 a.m. when Axios reported several sources in the administration were sharing the news.
Scaramucci has become a figure in the “Russia Narrative” after he won a retraction from CNN following the threat of a $100 million libel lawsuit over its botched reporting. This signals the Trump administration likely intends to take a much more combative role than it already has with the liberal mainstream media.
Mike Dubke, the president’s original communications director, resigned in May, stating he had never intended to work beyond Inauguration Day. Spicer had picked up many of his duties in the meantime while the president sought his choice for a replacement, leading many to speculate he was being considered for the job.
Spicer was previously communications director for the Republican National Committee and is an ally of embattled White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.
According to multiple press reports, the president offered the job to Scaramucci at 10 a.m. EDT Friday and asked Spicer to stay on in his current role. Reports vary as to the degree with which he objected and why, but all sources agree that the spokesman balked at the president’s decision. In an administration where loyalty is demanded, that likely didn’t sit well with the president.
The New York Times reported the president’s daughter Ivanka pushed for Scaramucci’s hiring, against the advice of both Priebus and White House Senior Counselor Steve Bannon. POLITICO had earlier reported that Bannon is once again on the president’s hot seat and was in a “self-imposed exile” from his inner circle. The Washington Times alluded to internal conflict between the president and his top advisers as well.
The White House Press Corps has been bristling at the lack of on-camera press briefings. The last on-camera briefing was held June 29. {eoa}
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