Sean Spicer has resigned as White House press secretary after a disagreement over a new communications director.

Financier Anthony Scaramucci was offered the job by Donald Trump on Friday morning.

The New York Times said that Mr Spicer "vehemently disagreed" with the appointment, telling the President it was "a major mistake".

It's been an honor & a privilege to serve @POTUS @realDonaldTrump & this amazing country. I will continue my service through August — Sean Spicer (@PressSec) 21 July 2017

After resigning, Mr Spicer tweeted that it had been "an honor & a privilege" to serve under Mr Trump, and that he would continue working through August.

Mr Spicer has been carrying out the communications director role alongside his duties as press secretary since Mike Dubke left in May.


In an on-camera White House briefing, deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, read out a statement from the President in which he said he was "grateful for Sean's work".

The President's statement also made mention of what he called Mr Spicer's "great television ratings".

Image: Anthony Scaramucci is the White House's new director of communications

Referring to the appointment of Anthony Scaramucci as his new director of communications, the President said he was an "important addition" to his team, and went on to take a swipe at the press saying "the good news is that the people get it even if the media doesn't".

Mr Scaramucci then took to the podium for his first public appearance in front of the White House corps, announcing Ms Huckabee Sanders promotion to the role of press secretary.

Mr Scaramucci then praised Mr Spicer as "a true American patriot", saying "I hope he goes on to make a tremendous amount of money".

Seen by some as the face of the Trump administration, Mr Spicer's briefings have often been tetchy, echoing his boss's dismissal of the "mainstream media" as peddlers of "fake news".

The tone was set in his debut in the role, as the press secretary clashed fiercely with the media over the size of the crowd in Washington for Mr Trump's inauguration ceremony.

Later he drew widespread criticism for comparing Syrian president Bashar-al Assad to Hitler and for telling veteran White House correspondent April Ryan to "stop shaking your head" after accusing her of pushing her own agenda.

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Mr Spicer, who served under former Republican president George W Bush in a public affairs trade role, had seemed to be safe from President Trump's notoriously short patience.

Mr Trump was reported as telling people: "I'm not firing Sean Spicer. That guy gets great ratings. Everyone tunes in."

But he stopped appearing at briefings after taking on the role of communications director after Mr Dubke's departure in May and Mr Trump was said to be pleased with the performances of his deputy, the equally combative Ms Huckabee Sanders.

Sky News US Correspondent Amanda Walker said: "What we know about Donald Trump is that he really favours loyalty… Spicer never lost his loyalty to Donald Trump, sometimes it was misguided, but it was always fierce and committed.

"It is an incredibly difficult job to get up there and speak for this maverick, unpredictable President. Very often what he said on that podium would be completely contradicted by Donald Trump in a single Tweet, so much so that his catchphrase became 'The Tweet speaks for itself'."

Ultimately Mr Spicer may be best remembered for spawning a scathingly funny impersonation of him by comedian Melissa McCarthy on Saturday Night Live, where she mocked his short fuse, bombastic temperament and fondness for chewing gum alongside Alec Baldwin's Donald Trump.

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Mr Spicer's departure reflects turmoil in Mr Trump's legal and communications teams, whom Mr Trump blames for the administration's inability to break free from the Russian election hacking story that has dogged his time in the Oval Office.

On Thursday, the President hit out at long-time ally and attorney general Jeff Sessions over his decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation, saying he would'n have appointed him to the role if he had known Sessions would do so.

And in a separate report, Mr Trump was said to be considering trying to limit the powers of special counsel Robert Mueller, appointed to oversee the investigation into whether Moscow contributed to the Trump campaign's victory.

Next week, his son, Donald Jr, son-in-law Jared Kushner and former campaign manager Paul Manafort will testify before senators over their meeting with a Russian lawyer last summer at which they were promised damaging information on opponent Hillary Clinton.

Mr. Scaramucci, who met Mr Trump and his daughter Ivanka for more than 30 minutes at the White House on Thursday, is one of the president's most trusted loyalists and a key defender of his on television.

Mr Spicer's first post-resignation interview will be with Sean Hannity on Trump-friendly platform Fox news on Friday night.

Anthony Scaramucci and White House chief of staff Reince Priebus will also appear on the show.