Story highlights
Scaramucci worked as White House communications director from July 26 to July 31
John Koehler previously held the title of shortest stint with 12 days in 1987
Anthony Scaramucci is going from the halls of the West Wing into the record books.
His five-day stint as White House communications director for President Donald Trump is the shortest time in that job since the position was created almost five decades ago.
The major staffing move came amid a turbulent time of transition for the Trump White House: former chief of staff Reince Priebus left on July 28 and former press secretary Sean Spicer left on July 21, the day that Scaramucci’s appointment was announced.
Scaramucci technically began his term on July 26 and left the job on July 31. The bombastic staffer grabbed headlines promising to squash leaks from the West Wing, prompting the resignation of Spicer and publicly clashing with Priebus in a profanity-laced interview.
Incoming White House chief of staff John Kelly had just begun his term on Monday.
Scaramucci takes the title of shortest tenure from John Koehler, who worked for 12 days under Ronald Reagan in 1987 before resigning amid a scandal about his membership in a Nazi youth organization as a child.
The average time as communications director, a crucial job at the helm of the White House’s messaging operation, has lasted 594 days – more than a year and a half at the senior West Wing role.
The position evolved during the Nixon administration and 29 people have formally held the post.
President George W. Bush and Barack Obama each had four communications directors over their respective eight years in office. Trump has had half that number in about one-sixteenth of the time.
This is according to a CNN analysis of data from the White House Transition Project, CNN, The New York Times, Politico and the White House.
But Scaramucci is far from the first executive branch employee to resign over the first six months of the Trump presidency.
Here’s a look at some of the top executive branch officials and White House aides to depart from their roles.
The staffing overhaul is the latest major shake-up in the White House, coming after a major setback for the repeal and replace of Obamacare in the Senate as Trump continues to search for his first major legislative achievement in office.
CORRECTION: This graphic has been updated to reflect Shaub’s duration on staff for the Trump administration. He was on staff 180 days.
CLARIFICATION: This graphic has been updated to clarify Scaramucci’s and Comey’s duration on staff based on the their start and end dates. They stayed on staff 11 days and 110 days, respectively.
