Jul 31, 2017

Scaramucci out as White House communications director

Shane Savitsky, Jonathan Swan

AP

Anthony Scaramucci has been removed as White House communications director after 10 days on the job — less than a week after an expletive-laden on-the-record rant to The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza — per The New York Times. Axios has since confirmed the news.

  • Scaramucci's departure came at the request of new chief of staff John Kelly, who is making his presence known in his first day on the job. Kelly broke the news to Scaramucci almost immediately after being sworn in. The NYT notes it's not clear whether he will stay on in the White House.
  • A source familiar tells Axios: "Kelly wanting to turn the page. New culture. Mooch no discipline. Thought he'd burned his credibility."
  • White House 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."
  • Jared and Ivanka were instrumental in bringing in Scaramucci, primarily to take out Reince Priebus. That was his chief (some might say only) duty.

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Axios

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 5 p.m. ET: 65,691 — Total deaths: 30,438 — Total recoveries: 139,263.
  2. U.S.: Leads the world in cases. Total confirmed cases as of 5 p.m. ET: 119,748 — Total deaths: 1,991 — Total recoveries: 921.
  3. Federal government latest: President Trump is considering a quarantine on New York, parts of New Jersey and Connecticut. He signed a $2 trillion stimulus bill to give businesses and U.S. workers financial relief.
  4. State updates: Alaska is latest state to issue a stay-at-home order — New York is trying to nearly triple its hospital capacity in less than a month and has moved its presidential primary to June 23. Some Midwestern swing voters that supported Trump's handling of the virus less than two weeks ago are now balking at his call for the U.S. to be "opened up" by Easter.
  5. World updates: In Spain, over 1,400 people were confirmed dead between Thursday to Saturday.
  6. 🚀 Space updates: OneWeb filed for bankruptcy amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
  7. Hollywood: Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have returned to U.S. after being treated for coronavirus.
  8. What should I do? Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk
  9. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

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