President Trump's newly-hired communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, was ousted after less than two weeks, a tumultuous span during which he lashed out at since-departed chief of staff Reince Priebus, accusing him of being a leaker, and vulgarly blasted Priebus and White House chief strategist Steve Bannon in a profanity-filled interview. Scaramucci's departure came on retired General John Kelly's first day as chief of staff, and showing him the door was an initial step by Kelly as he tries to bring order to a chaotic White House.
The announcement said that Scaramucci, who was escorted from the White House grounds, was leaving because he, quote, "felt it was best to give Chief of Staff John Kelly a clean slate and the ability to build his own team." When asked about Scaramucci's departure, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee-Sanders said, "The president certainly felt that Anthony's comments were inappropriate for a person in his position."
Huckabee-Sanders also said that all senior staffers, including Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, his daughter Ivanka Trump, and his chief strategist Steve Bannon, will report to Kelly instead of directly to the president. Until now, some top staffers had reported directly to Trump, and many were able to just walk into the Oval Office when they wanted to. Huckabee-Sanders said that Kelly, quote, "will bring new structure, discipline and strength" to the White House."
Priebus was done in by a lack of respect by Kushner, Ivanka and Bannon, all of whom circumvented whatever authority he had to get a direct line to the president. Clearly, Kelly has no appetite for such behavior.