Sean Spicer quits as White House press secretary after appointment of 'The Mooch'

White House press secretary Sean Spicer has quit following Donald Trump's appointment of Anthony Scaramucci as communications director.

According to the New York Times, Trump asked Spicer to stay on in his role, but after "vehemently" disagreeing with the appointment of Scaramucci, he resigned.

Scaramucci, known to his friends as "Mooch" is a major Republican donor who supported Trump during the general election campaign.

Currently, Scaramucci works at the Export-Import Bank and is expected to resign from his position to take on the White House job.

For much of the past few weeks, the White House press briefings have been off-air and have been presided over by the deputy press secretary, Sarah Huckabee-Sanders.

Spicer's near seven-month tenure as press secretary became a ratings hit on cable television, spawning the now well-known parody by actress Melissa McCarthy on SNL.

Representing a White House under constant fire amid numerous investigations into Russian collusion, his briefings were confrontational affairs at times.

His very first press briefing saw him row with journalists over the size of crowds at the inauguration of Donald Trump.

He was forced to apologise in April when he had attempted to discuss the use chemical weapons by Syria's president Bashar al-Assad. Spicer stated that "not even Hitler" employed the use of chemical weapons, despite the fact that Nazis killed millions with chemical gases during the Holocaust.

Spicer's gaffes and argumentative attitude are thought to have made Donald Trump question his position.

Prior to working for the Trump White House, Spicer was the communications director for the Republican National Committee.