WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Sean Spicer resigned Friday morning, according to three White House officials.
Spicer’s resignation came after New York financier and former Trump campaign fundraiser Anthony Scaramucci accepted the position as White House communications director. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been promoted to press secretary.
According to the New York Times, President Donald Trump asked Spicer to stay, but he refused saying the hiring was a mistake.
Spicer says that he chose to resign from his position to give incoming communications director Anthony Scaramucci a fresh start.
Spicer says during a brief phone conversation with The Associated Press following his announced departure that, “we’re at the point where” the president “could benefit from a clean slate.”
He says he felt it would be best for Scaramucci to be able to build his own operation “and chart a new way forward.”
Spicer is also complimenting Scaramucci, a New York financier and frequent defender of the president who was a staple at Trump Tower during the president’s transition.
Spicer says of Scaramucci’s hiring: “It’ll be great, he’s a tough guy.”
