Sean Spicer has quit his position as White House press secretary, according to insiders with knowledge of the situation.
Spicer is quitting because of objections over the appointment of a new White House communications director, New York financier Anthony Scaramucci.
Scaramucci is a longtime backer of President Donald Trump — but his hiring apparently angered Spicer.
According to The New York Times, Trump requested that Spicer stay as press secretary, but Spicer declined the request.
Spicer then allegedly told the president that hiring Scaramucci was a “major mistake,” according to The Times report.
In recent weeks, deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders had largely taken over White House press briefings, turning them into an off-camera event.
Spicer spent several years leading communications at the Republican National Committee before helping Trump’s campaign in the general election.
He is close to White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, the former RNC chair, and several of the lower-ranking aides in the White House communications shop.
Priebus says he supports incoming communications director Anthony Scaramucci “100 percent.”
Scaramucci is expected to play a visible role as one of Trump’s defenders on television.
The Associated Press contributed to this article