Washington (CNN) In one of his first acts as White House chief of staff, John Kelly pushed out the newly minted communications director Anthony Scaramucci, a stunning move that suggests the new boss has wider leeway than many people thought when President Trump announced his hiring late Friday.

Scaramucci spent less than two weeks in his post, a stunningly short period of time by any measure of presidential staff tenures. Even in that short time, he repeatedly made waves -- none larger than an expletive-laden phone call with The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza last week in which The Mooch, as he referred to himself, cursed out then-White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and used an acrobatic vulgarity to describe how White House chief strategist Steve Bannon spends his free time.

When Priebus was fired less than 48 hours after Scaramucci's rant, it appeared to be a signal that Trump had chosen the brash Scaramucci over the more-reserved Priebus. Scaramucci was, after all, a personal friend of Trump and his family -- not to mention someone, like Trump, who hailed from New York and had made considerable money in the business world.

Kelly's hiring seemed to clash with the White House image forwarded by Scaramucci. A four-star Marine general known for discipline and organization, Kelly was the opposite of the free-wheeling and free-talking Mooch, who bragged last week that his job was entirely secure and that he reported directly to the President, not the chief of staff.

The presumption was that Scaramucci's closeness to Trump -- and Mini-Me-like devotion to the President -- would insulate him in spite of the massive controversy caused by his comments.

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