According to three sources close to the White House and a White House official, discussions about appointing Scaramucci as communications director began weeks ago. The idea, sources say, was initially Trump’s; Scaramucci has been a close ally, and Trump appreciated Scaramucci’s defense of him on television. Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump were involved in the decision and supported Scaramucci coming in, sources say, while White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Steve Bannon were firmly against, with Priebus calling Scaramucci on Thursday night and texting people close to him in a last-ditch effort to reach him and stop the hire. Bannon, a source close to the White House said, wanted an experienced communications professional in the job as the White House struggles to form a coherent message strategy to deal with the Russia investigation and the litany of other crises in which the administration is mired…

“It’s wake-up time for people,” said a source close to the White House. “Get your job done. Get ahold of the Russia narrative. They probably want to get a little more aggressive in getting control of these things.”