Sean Spicer quits: White House press secretary plays down 'row'

[jayden™]

White House press secretary Sean Spicer has moved to minimise talk of divisions within the Trump administration after announcing his resignation. Mr Spicer is reportedly stepping down because he is unhappy with President Donald Trump's appointment of a new communications director. But he told Fox News he had "no regrets" about his six-month stint. Wall Street financier Anthony Scaramucci has been picked for the role that Mr Spicer had partially filled. The shake-up at the White House comes amid several investigations into alleged Russian meddling in last year's US presidential election and whether Mr Trump's campaign team colluded with Moscow. "The president obviously wanted to add to the team, more than anything," Mr Spicer told interviewer Sean Hannity. "I just thought it was in the best interest of our communications department, of our press organisation, to not have too many cooks in the kitchen. "Without me in the way, they have a fresh start, so that I'm not lurking over them." He defended President Trump's agenda, saying it was an honour and a privilege to serve him, and hit out at what he termed "media bias". He said: "I was increasingly disappointed about the way the media here do their job - or don't do their job." The 45 year old also said he had told Mr Trump he "would stay on for a few weeks to achieve a smooth transition", and was looking forward to spending more time with his family. Mr Spicer's often chaotic press briefings over the past six months were a cable news hit, but in recent weeks he had withdrawn from appearances in front of the camera. What does Scaramucci say? In an assured debut, he attended Friday afternoon's news conference to announce that Sarah Huckabee Sanders, formerly Mr Spicer's deputy, would step into his shoes. "I love the president and it's an honour to be here," Mr Scaramucci said, adding: "He is genuinely a wonderful human being." Mr Scaramucci, who has no previous experience in communications roles, paid tribute to Mr Spicer as "a true American patriot" and "incredibly gracious". "I hope he goes on to make a tremendous amount of money," he added.