Sean Spicer, who has been serving in a dual role for President Donald Trump as press secretary and communications director, has abruptly resigned after Trump chose Anthony Scaramucci as the new communications director, a White House official says.
Trump picked Wall Street financier Anthony Scaramucci, a long-time supporter, to be his White House communications director on Friday, White House official Sarah Sanders said earlier.
Various media reported that the new hire sparked the resignation of Mr Spicer, one of the major faces of the Trump administration.
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However, Ms Sanders said that the new hire didn't signal other changes in the administration.
Currently at the Export-Import Bank, Mr Scaramucci is expected to start his new job in August, Sanders said.
The appointment comes as the White House deals with questions around a special counsel probe and several congressional investigations into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and potential collusion with Mr Trump's campaign.
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The communications position has been vacant since Michael Dubke resigned in May as communications director. Spicer has been serving a dual role as press secretary and communications director since Dubke left.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mr Scaramucci was interviewed by Trump on Friday morning and the job had been offered and accepted.
Scaramucci, a Republican fundraiser and founder of Skybridge Capital, was earlier offered the post of US ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.
'The karma police are coming to arrest him'
Sean Spicer endured endless jokes at his expense during his six-month tenure as White House press secretary, and Hollywood didn't hold back following the news of his resignation.
Celebrities took to social media on Friday to reflect on Mr Spicer's tumultuous term and question what his departure could mean for Melissa McCarthy, who impersonates him on sketch show Saturday Night Live.
- Comedian Jimmy Kimmel offered up a bit of advice. "Dear [Sean Spicer] Please write a book. Immediately," he posted on Twitter.
- Ava DuVernay helped unpack the situation. "Translation: Lied for a liar in a mountain of lies," she wrote.
- "Not it," actor Kal Penn, who worked in the White House during former president Barack Obama's administration, declared.
- "Words fail me," a self-aware Stephen Colbert admitted. "And they failed him, too."
- Zach Braff bluntly wrote, "Sean Spicer is the worst and the karma police are coming to arrest him."
- Former White House speechwriter Jon Lovett simply posted the music video for Green Day's nostalgic anthem 'Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)'.
- "Where in Washington is there a home for an ex-White House press secretary who set new records for dishonesty?" Jon Favreau, Mr Obama's former director of speechwriting, asked. "Oh, everywhere."
- Ike Barinholtz offered one explanation behind the resignation. "Sean Spicer is stepping down so he can focus on mispronouncing words at home with his family," he said.
- Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock also got behind the idea of a Spicer tell-all book. "Cut to the 15 different book publishers waiting outside the White House fence with wheelbarrows full of money," he wrote.
- Comic book writer Dan Slott spelled out how the news is relevant for everyone. "No more Melissa McCarthy Spicey sketches on SNL," he pointed out.
Reuters
