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Anthony Scaramucci spent his second day as White House communications director telling reporters he will "fire everyone" in the press office if leaks from the administration don't stop.
"If they don't stop leaking I'm going to put them out on Pennsylvania Avenue," Scaramucci told reporters outside the White House.
Assistant Press Secretary Michael Short seemed to be the first part of Scaramucci's overhaul — he resigned on Tuesday. Politico first reported Scaramucci planned to fire Short.
A few hours after the Polico report, Scaramucci berated reporters outside the White House for reporting on Short's possible firing and said the story was an example of "the problem with the leaking" when asked to confirm whether or not Short would be fired.
"This is actually a terrible thing. Let’s say I’m firing Michael Short today. The fact that you guys know about it before he does really upsets me as a human being, and as a Roman Catholic. You got that? So I should have the opportunity, if I had to let somebody go, to let the person go in a very humane, dignified way and then the next thing to do is to help the person get the job somewhere, okay. Because he probably has a family, right? So now you guys are talking about it. It’s not fair. Just being honest with you," he said.
"So here’s the problem with the leaking, why I have to figure out how to get the leaking to stop, because it hurts people," he continued.
One reporter asked whether Scaramucci had begun an investigation into who specifically within the press office was responsible for leaks.
"I’m not doing an investigation. I’m just going to get the leaks to stop," he responded.
He did reiterate, when asked how he planned to stop the leaks, that he is willing to fire the entire communications department except for himself and newly appointed press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
"I’m going to fire everybody, that’s how I’m going to do it. You’re either going to stop leaking or you’re going to get fired. If I’ve got to get this thing down to me and Sarah Huckabee then the leaking will stop," he said. "1000% I have the authority from the president to do that."
Earlier in the day, Scaramucci weighed in on Trump's tweets this week calling Attorney General Jeff Sessions "beleaguered" and "weak".
Scaramucci told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt in an interview that he thinks the president and attorney general "need to work this thing out" but that the president likely wants Sessions to resign from his position.
"It's clear the president wants him gone, isn't it, Anthony?" Hewitt asked.
"I have an enormous amount of respect for the Attorney General, but I do know the president pretty well, and if there's this level of tension in the relationship that's public, you're probably right," said Scaramucci. "But I don't want to speak for the president on that because he's a cabinet official and I sort of thing that has to be between the president of the United States and the cabinet official."
The White House press office did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
LINK: Live Updates: Trump Has His Attorney General On Blast For A Second Day
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