WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - White House spokesman 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.

A White House official confirmed the departure of Spicer, 45, and said Trump had named Wall Street financier Anthony Scaramucci as his new, top communications official.

While not a surprise, Spicer's departure was abrupt and reflected heightened turmoil within Trump's legal and communication teams amid a widening investigation into possible ties between Trump's 2016 campaign and the Kremlin.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer



36 PHOTOS Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer See Gallery Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer Outgoing White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer waves as he walks into the White House in Washington, U.S., July 21, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria White House spokesman Sean Spicer holds a briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 14, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Tom Price (L-R), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer speak to reporters after the Congressional Budget Office released its score on proposed Republican health care legislation at the White House in Washington, U.S. March 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY White House Communications Director Sean Spicer holds the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. February 2, 2017. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst) White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) takes questions during a daily briefing at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House January 23, 2017 in Washington, DC. Spicer conducted his first official White House daily briefing to take questions from the members of the White House press corps. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer holds the daily press briefing January 23, 2017 at the White House in Washington, DC. (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images) U.S. President Donald Trump (L-R), joined by Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Vice President Mike Pence, senior advisor Steve Bannon, Communications Director Sean Spicer and National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S. January 28, 2017. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst) White House spokesman Sean Spicer takes questions during his press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2017. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque) Trump aide Omarosa Manigault (C) watches as White House spokesman Sean Spicer (R) arrives for a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Rivals Brad Woodhouse (left) and Sean Spicer pose for a photograph outside Bullfeathers in Washington, D.C. on November 08, 2011. Sean Spicer and Brad Woodhouse (spokesmen for the RNC and DNC) hosts Congressional and other flacks to the 1st Annual 'Flacks for Flacks Who Wear Flak Jackets' Benefiting Military Public Affairs Officers serving in Afghanistan. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 30: White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer holds up paperwork highlighting and comparing language about the National Security Council from the Trump administration and previous administrations during the daily press briefing at the White House, January 30, 2017 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump announced Monday that he will reveal his 'unbelievably highly respected' pick to replace the late Supreme Court Antonin Scalia on Tuesday evening. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 14: White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer leaves after a daily press briefing at the James Brady Press Briefing Room February 14, 2017 at the White House in Washington, DC. Spicer discussed on various topics including the resignation of Michael Flynn from his position as National Security Adviser. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Trump advisor Steve Bannon (2L), White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus (R), and White House spokesman Sean Spicer look on before the announcement of the Supreme Court nominee at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 31, 2017. President Donald Trump nominated federal appellate judge Neil Gorsuch as his Supreme Court nominee, tilting the balance of the court back in the conservatives' favor. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images) White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer removes lint from Senior White House Advisor Stephen Miller's jacket as he waits to go on the air in the White House Briefing Room in Washington, U.S., February 12, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Sean Spicer, White House press secretary, center, attends a swearing in ceremony of White House senior staff in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. Trump today mocked protesters who gathered for large demonstrations across the U.S. and the world on Saturday to signal discontent with his leadership, but later offered a more conciliatory tone, saying he recognized such marches as a hallmark of our democracy. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images) White House Director of Oval Office Operations Keith Schiller (L) carries a red USA hat and a copy of Fortune magazine with U.S. President Donald Trump on the cover as he and Communications Director Sean Spicer (R) deplane from Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S. March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Sean Spicer, left, is the new communications director for the Republican National Committee, and Rick Wiley, is the RNCï¿½ new political director. (Photo by Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images) Sean Spicer, White House press secretary, arrives to a swearing in ceremony of White House senior staff in the East Room of the White House on January 22, 2017 in Washington, DC. Trump today mocked protesters who gathered for large demonstrations across the U.S. and the world on Saturday to signal discontent with his leadership, but later offered a more conciliatory tone, saying he recognized such marches as a 'hallmark of our democracy.' (Photo by Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images) New Jersey Governor Chris Christie stands alongside his wife, Mary Pat, and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L), as US President Donald Trump signs House Joint Resolution 41, which removes some Dodd-Frank regulations on oil and gas companies, during a bill signing ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, February 14, 2017. / AFP / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images) White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer makes a statement to members of the media at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. This was Spicer's first press conference as Press Secretary where he spoke about the media's reporting on the inauguration's crowd size. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Stephen Miller(L) and Sean Spicer, arrive to meet with US President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York on January 10, 2017. (BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images) White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer makes a statement to members of the media at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. This was Spicer's first press conference as Press Secretary where he spoke about the media's reporting on the inauguration's crowd size. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer holds the daily press briefing January 23, 2017 at the White House in Washington, DC. (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images) Incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer takes a photo with his cell phone on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. In today's inauguration ceremony Donald J. Trump becomes the 45th president of the United States. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Sean Spicer, a spokesman for the House Republican Conference, updates waiting media on progress of the meeting as House Republicans, eager to put a fresh face on their leadership team as they head into difficult November elections, chose John A. Boehner of Ohio as their new majority leader. Boehner beat out interim Majority Leader Roy Blunt of Missouri on the second ballot, 122-109. John Shadegg of Arizona, a late entrant into the race, was knocked out on the first ballot, when he drew 40 votes to 79 for Boehner and 110 for Blunt. Jim Ryun of Kansas drew two votes. (Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images) Sean Spicer, incoming press secretary for President-elect Donald Trump leaves from Trump Tower after meetings on January 5, 2017, in New York. (KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty Images) Chief Strategist and Communications Director at the Republican National Committee, Sean Spicer is interviewed in his office at the committee's headquarters on Monday August 15, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Matt McClain/ The Washington Post via Getty Images) National security adviser General Michael Flynn (L) arrives to deliver a statement next to Press Secretary Sean Spicer during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington U.S., February 1, 2017. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria) White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer speaks during a daily briefing at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House January 23, 2017 in Washington, DC. Spicer conducted his first official White House daily briefing to take questions from the members of the White House press corps. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Press Secretary Sean Spicer speaks as television screen displays journalists who participate in the daily briefing via Skype at the White House in Washington U.S., February 1, 2017. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria) President Donald Trump gestures to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) as he makes remarks to the press as he sits down for a working lunch with members of his cabinet and their spouses, including Veteran's Administration Secretary David Shulkin (2nd R) at Trump National Golf Club, Potomac Falls,Virginia, in suburban Washington, U.S., March 11, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Theiler POTOMAC FALLS, VA - MARCH 11: White House Pres Secretary Sean Spicer briefs the press pool as President Donald Trump has a working lunch with staff and cabinet members and significant others at his golf course, Trump National on March 11, 2017 in Potomac Falls, Virginia. (Photo by Pete Marovich-Pool/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 14: White House Press secretary Sean Spicer points as he answers questions from members of the media and reporters, seen reflected in an exit sign, during the daily briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images) White House spokesman Sean Spicer holds a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 17, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (COMBO)(FILES) This combination of file pictures created on July 21, 2017 shows former assistant to US President Donald Trump Anthony Scaramucci attending a meeting on the opening day of the World Economic Forum, on January 17, 2017 in Davos, and White House spokesman Sean Spicer during a press briefing on June 20, 2017 at the White House in Washington, DC. Sean Spicer resigned as White House press secretary Friday in protest at a major shakeup of Donald Trump's embattled administration, an official told AFP. Spicer -- the administrations most recognizable face after the president -- resigned after just six months in office, having been increasingly sidelined in recent weeks. Spicer reached breaking point on Friday, the White House official said, when Trump appointed Anthony Scaramucci to be the new communications director, a bid to reset the scandal-wracked administration. / AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI AND NICHOLAS KAMM (Photo credit should read FABRICE COFFRINI,NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images) White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer briefs members of the media during a daily briefing at the White House July 17, 2017 in Washington, DC. / AFP PHOTO / Olivier Douliery (Photo credit should read OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP/Getty Images) Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE

Parodied memorably by Melissa McCarthy on the "Saturday Night Live" sketch comedy show for his combative encounters with the White House press corps, Spicer became one of the Trump administration's most recognized figures.

He invited controversy from the beginning, attacking the news media in his debut appearance as press secretary for reporting what he called inaccurate crowd numbers at Trump's inauguration.

"This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe," he said, an assertion that quickly drew scorn.

While the White House official gave no reason for Spicer's resignation, the New York Times reported that he had quit over Scaramucci's appointment. Spicer had been serving as both press secretary and communications director, but with a lower profile recently.

RELATED: Twitter reacts to Spicer saying Hitler didn't use "chemical weapons"



16 PHOTOS Twitter reacts to Spicer saying Hitler didn't use "chemical weapons" See Gallery Twitter reacts to Spicer saying Hitler didn't use "chemical weapons" White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer holds the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst SPICER on Syria: "We didn't use chemical in WW2. Someone as despicable as Hitler who didn't sink to the level of using chemical weapons." Trump spox Sean Spicer just said even Hitler did not use chemical weapons. Um. Maybe not in the battlefield -- but ... gas chambers? Sean Spicer just said Hitler didn't use chemical weapons. SEAN SPICER JUST SAID HITLER DIDN'T USE CHEMICAL WEAPONS. Sean Spicer just said Assad is worse than Hitler because Hitler "didn't use chemical weapons." Also, Happy Passover from the White House. DID SEAN SPICER JUST SAY HITLER NEVER USED CHEMICAL WEAPONS DURING WWII?!?? 😦😦😦 #PressBriefing Not complimenting Hitler is the number one rule of being a decent person. Sean Spicer missed that memo. #PressBriefing Spicer just said even Hitler didn't use chemical weapons. I guess Jews being gassed don't count?#holocaust… https://t.co/oSrPakwRs9 WHAT?? Did @PressSec Sean Spicer just say when explaining how awful Assad is to his people,, "..even Hitler didn't use chemical weapons" OMG Sean Spicer "Not even Hitler used gas on WWII" Really? What was that stuff he used in a 6 mil person genocide Spicer: even Hitler didn't use chemical weapons. DID HE REALLY JUST SAY THAT Did anyone else just hear Sean Spicer say "Hitler didn't user chemical weapons"? Holy f**k..... Let the tweets begin... #MSNBC .@PressSec just compared Assad to Hitler Said Assad was worse b/c Hitler didn't use gas on civilians. Spicer, FYI: Hitler used gas. Spicer clarifies comment Hitler didn't do what Assad is: "He was not using the gas on his own people in the same way that Assad is doing." Spicer: Even Hitler didn't gas his own people. I think the Jews would disagree with that statement. Me: time to check in on Spicer's briefing Also me: ope. he's talking about Hitler. I'm out... Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE

Spicer was targeted by critics for what they said were false or misleading statements. In recent weeks, he has less frequently taken the lectern in the White House press room.

From the start, Spicer and other Trump aides sought to shake up the status quo in White House dealings with the media, including cutting back daily televised news briefings and replacing them with audio briefings only.

When Trump tapped Spicer for the job of press secretary, he was spokesman for the Republican National Committee.

Separately, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating the possible Trump-Russia ties, has asked White House officials to preserve any records of a meeting last year between the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and a Russian lawyer, a source with knowledge of the request said on Friday.

The White House said deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders will give an on-camera briefing on Friday afternoon.

(Writing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Susan Heavey; Editing by Kieran Murray and Jonathan Oatis)

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