Just 10 days after becoming White House communications director, hedge funder Anthony Scaramucci has been removed from his position.President Donald Trump made the decision at the behest of his new chief of staff, John Kelly, who took office Monday morning, the New York Times reports. Although Scaramucci, 53, had previously reported directly to the president, Kelly reportedly made clear this morning that he was now the gatekeeper to the Oval Office.“Anthony Scaramucci will be leaving his role as White House Communications Director. Mr. Scaramucci felt it was best to give Chief of Staff John Kelly a clean slate and the ability to build his own team. We wish him all the best,” the White House said in a statement.The Goldman Sachs alum had headed up the global investment firm SkyBridge Capital for 12 years before he joined Team Trump. It is unclear what role, if any, Scaramucci will have inside the White House going forward. His replacement has not been announced.Scaramucci’s short time as communications director will likely be best remembered for his epic, profanity-laced rant to New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza attacking his White House rivals, Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus. “I’m not Steve Bannon, I’m not trying to suck my own cock,” he said. Of Priebus, he said: “Reince is a fucking paranoid schizophrenic, a paranoiac.”During his very brief term, Scaramucci’s personal life also made headlines — on July 6, his wife filed for divorce while 9 months pregnant, reportedly citing Trump as one of the reasons. (When she gave birth, on July 24, Scaramucci was with Trump at the Boy Scouts Jamboree in West Virginia.) According to the New York Post — reportedly Trump’s favorite paper — Scaramucci texted her “Congratulations, I’ll pray for our child.”Scaramucci’s arrival and dismissal marks a tough 10 days for the White House during which Trump’s signature legislative goal was dashed, he openly demeaned his Attorney General, Congress overwhelmingly passed legislation limiting his ability to roll back Russian sanctions, North Korea tested another long-range missile, and both Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus were pushed out.Trump is hoping that Kelly’s arrival in the West Wing will help steady the ship. At a Cabinet meeting Monday morning, Trump said, “I predict that General Kelly will go down, in terms of the position of Chief of Staff, as one of the great [sic] ever.”
Advertisement