Sean Spicer on Thursday bade the White House farewell, more than a month after turning over control of the briefing room podium to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in protest of Anthony Scaramucci’s even more short-lived tenure as communications director.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the President and the American people as the White House press secretary,” Spicer wrote in an email from his White House address.
He thanked the White House “communications, digital and press teams” and other staffers including the Secret Service and residence staff.
“I especially want to thank the President and the First Lady for their support during my tenure and for giving me this opportunity. Walking into the White House every day is a privilege that few in our country experience and I am grateful for it,” Spicer wrote. “As I sign off this email address for a final time, I want to say thanks. I am proud to have worked with each and every one of you.”
Spicer’s tenure as White House press secretary, which lasted six months and one day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, nevertheless kept him in the White House longer than not just Scaramucci but also fellow inaugural staffers Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus and Sebastian Gorka.
Priebus stepped down in July and insisted he had “no regrets” about supporting Trump.
Bannon left his role as chief strategist earlier in August.
Gorka last week claimed he resigned from his job as counterterrorism adviser and deputy assistant to the President, though the White House disputed his account. MSNBC’s Chris Hayes reported on Tuesday that Gorka was in fact barred from entering the White House complex before he aired those claims.
Scaramucci, whose appointment Spicer resigned to protest, had the shortest tenure of all, joining Trump’s administration on July 21 and departing just 10 days later.
