Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been named White House Press Secretary after 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.
While not a surprise, Spicer’s departure was abrupt and reflected 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.
Sanders was named as the new press secretary by her new boss, Anthony Scaramucci, at a White House briefing with reporters. Scaramucci, a former Wall Street financier, was named as the administration’s new top communications official.
Trump said he was grateful for Spicer’s work in a statement, delivered at the briefing by Sanders.
“I am grateful for Sean’s work on behalf of my administration and the American people. I wish him continued success as he moves on to pursue new opportunities. Just look at his great television ratings,” the statement read.
“Sean will continue to serve the administration through August. And the president has also appointed Anthony Scaramucci as communications director.”
A Republican close to the White House told Reuters that Trump settled on Scaramucci for the job on Thursday and met with him on Friday morning to formally offer it to him.
