White House communication chief Anthony Scaramucci, the foul-mouthed hedge fund executive who joined President Donald Trump’s West Wing inner circle only last week, is out.
It marked a whirlwind tenure for the profane former hedge fund executive known to friends and foes alike as “The Mooch,” who in 10 days on the job was instrumental in the departures of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.
“He served his purpose,” one aide said.
Scaramucci’s tirade against Priebus and chief strategist Steve Bannon in an interview with the New Yorker and frequent pronouncements that he’d fire “everyone” at the White House in an effort to oust leakers, had become an internal distraction, sources said. Scaramucci’s brusk style and insistence on reporting directly to Trump had chafed on Kelly, whose mandate is to bring order to a dysfunctional West Wing.
“Anthony Scaramucci will be leaving his role as White House Communications Director,” said White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in a statement. “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.”
A communications novice, Scaramucci came into the job in large part because of his eagerness to defend Trump on television—and his feud with Priebus, who had moved to block him from multiple West Wing jobs earlier this year. An instant television celebrity, Scaramucci’s obsequious displays of loyalty pleased the president, but his astonishing rise also threatened to overshadow the President.
“The president certainly felt that Anthony’s comments were inappropriate for a person in that position,” Sanders said of Scaramucci’s vulgar attacks on Bannon and Priebus in an interview with The New Yorker last week. She added that Trump did not want to “burden” his new chief of staff with Scaramucci, who in his short tenure reported only to the president.
Scaramucci, who was escorted off the White House grounds—a customary practice for those who are terminated, does not currently hold any role in the Trump administration, Sanders said. Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who has remained working in the West Wing despite tendering his resignation after Scaramucci’s hiring, is not expected to stay on beyond his announced transition period.
Scaramucci’s departure comes hours after Trump insisted that everything at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave was going according to plan. “No WH chaos!” the president tweeted Monday morning.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Where Trump 2.0 Will Differ From 1.0
- How Elon Musk Became a Kingmaker
- The Power—And Limits—of Peer Support
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- Column: If Optimism Feels Ridiculous Now, Try Hope
- The Future of Climate Action Is Trade Policy
- FX’s Say Nothing Is the Must-Watch Political Thriller of 2024
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
Contact us at letters@time.com