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Sanders briefs reporters following Scaramucci's ouster

Alex Brandon / AP

Sarah Sanders, who will soon replace Sean Spicer as Press Secretary, stated Monday that White House Communications Director, Anthony Scaramucci, "does not have a role [at the White House] at this time." She later added that President Trump "certainly thought Anthony's comments [to The New Yorker] were inappropriate for a person in that position." Other highlights from Monday's press briefing:

  • Is new Chief of Staff John Kelly responsible for Scaramucci's ouster? "We all serve at the pleasure of the president," but in this instance it was a "mutual agreement."
  • Hierarchy of reporting to Kelly: "Gen. Kelly has the full authority to operate in the White House and all staff will report to him."
  • What will happen to Spicer now? "I am not aware of any changes on that front."
  • On Attorney General Sessions: "The president has 100 percent confidence in every member of his Cabinet."

Earlier, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and National Security Advisor McMaster announced new sanctions on Venezuela.

Go deeper

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata
10 mins ago - Podcasts

Bill Browder on Russia-U.S. relations after Alexei Navalny's arrest

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was recently arrested in Moscow, just months after being poisoned in an assassination attempt, in what could become Joe Biden’s first major foreign policy test.

Axios Re:Cap speaks with Bill Browder, an investor and author who has his own history of clashing with Putin, to better understand the Navalny situation and how the U.S. might respond by using a law that Browder helped create.

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, author of China
3 hours ago - World

Special report: Trump's U.S.-China transformation

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

President Trump began his term by launching the trade war with China he had promised on the campaign trail. By mid-2020, however, Trump was no longer the public face of China policy-making as he became increasingly consumed with domestic troubles, giving his top aides carte blanche to pursue a cascade of tough-on-China policies.

Why it matters: Trump alone did not reshape the China relationship. But his trade war shattered global norms, paving the way for administration officials to pursue policies that just a few years earlier would have been unthinkable.

Go deeper (4 min. read)Arrow
Ursula Perano
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

McConnell: Trump "provoked" Capitol mob

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Tuesday that the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was "provoked by the president and other powerful people."

Why it matters: Trump was impeached by the House last week for "incitement of insurrection." McConnell has not said how he will vote in Trump's coming Senate impeachment trial, but sources told Axios' Mike Allen that the chances of him voting to convict are higher than 50%.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow