Washington - White House spokesman Sean
Spicer resigned on Friday, ending a brief and turbulent tenure
that made him a household name, amid further upheaval within
President Donald Trump's inner circle.
A White House official confirmed the departure of Spicer,
45, and said Trump had named former Wall Street financier
Anthony Scaramucci as his new top communications official.
While not a surprise, Spicer's departure was abrupt and
reflected the turmoil in Trump's legal and media teams amid a
widening investigation of possible ties between Trump's campaign
and Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Parodied memorably by actress Melissa McCarthy on the
"Saturday Night Live" television comedy show for his combative
encounters with the White House press corps, Spicer became one
of the Trump administration's most recognized figures.
From the beginning, he invited controversy, attacking the
media in his debut appearance as press secretary for reporting
what he called inaccurate crowd numbers at Trump's inauguration.
"This was the largest audience to ever witness an
inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe," he
said, an assertion that quickly drew scorn.
The White House official gave no reason for Spicer's
resignation. The New York Times reported he quit over
Scaramucci's appointment. Spicer had been serving as press
secretary and communications director.
"It's been an honor & privilege to serve @POTUS
@realDonaldTrump & this amazing country," Spicer wrote in a
Twitter post on Friday. "I will continue my service through
August."
It's been an honor & a privilege to serve @POTUS @realDonaldTrump& this amazing country. I will continue my service through August
— Sean Spicer (@PressSec) July 21, 2017
Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders was scheduled to give
an on-camera briefing on Friday afternoon at the White House,
which had offered no official statement by early afternoon on
Spicer's resignation.
Newly-appointed Press Sec. Sarah Huckabee Sanders reads statement from Pres. Trump on resignation of Sean Spicer. https://t.co/Mi3Mv3ZT2j pic.twitter.com/qjNVH2RpUu
— ABC News (@ABC) July 21, 2017
Before being tapped by Trump for the job of press secretary,
Spicer was spokesman for the Republican National Committee. He
also had previously worked in the administration of former
President George W. Bush, a time when he dressed up in an Easter
Bunny costume for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.
Spicer and other Trump aides shook up White House dealings
with the media, including cutting back daily televised news
briefings and replacing them with audio briefings only.
Separately, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is
investigating the possible Trump-Russia ties, has asked White
House officials to preserve any records of a meeting last year
between the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and a
Russian lawyer, a source with knowledge of the request said on
Friday.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday brushed off sharp
criticism from Trump, saying he loved his job and planned to
continue serving. Trump took a broad swipe at his
administration's top law officers this week in a New York Times
interview, saying he would not have appointed Sessions as
attorney general if he had known he would recuse himself.
Unrest among White House officials was not confined to legal
and communications staffers, said two officials familiar with
the situation.
Trump has ignored the recommendations of national security
adviser H.R. McMaster and his senior director for Russia, Fiona
Hill, on dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the
officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
They said McMaster is frustrated by continuing debate about
sending more US forces to Afghanistan. One official said
tension persists between internationalists such as McMaster and
America First advocates, led by chief White House strategist
Steve Bannon and chief speechwriter Stephen Miller.