Port native Scaramucci not taking White House job: report

Stephen Romano

Port Washington native Anthony Scaramucci, who was named a top advisor to President Donald Trump last month, will not be taking the  White House job, The New York Times reported last Wednesday.

Scaramucci, 53,  who co-founded the investment firm SkyBridge Capital and was a significant Republican donor throughout the 2016 race, was informed by Reince Priebus, Trump’s chief of staff, that he would not be the White House’s public liaison to the business community, according to The Times.

The issue surrounding Scaramucci’s hiring is the pending sale of his firm, which will reportedly net him $180 million, to a division of the HNA Group, which is a “politically connected Chinese conglomerate that would become the firm’s majority owner,” The Times said.

The article said White House officials predicted it would take up to three months for him to be cleared of any ethics conflicts.

The HNA Group has strong ties to China’s ruling Communist Party, The Times reported.

“HNA, a financial behemoth whose interests range from aviation to supermarkets, has said that SkyBridge will give it a foothold in America’s asset management business,” the article said. “The $180 million deal could be finalized as late as the end of June.”

Scaramucci agreed to remove himself from any business regarding SkyBridge Captial  and HNA.

Efforts to reach Scaramucci were unavailing.

Before he signed on to work in the White House, Scaramucci lived in Manhasset.

A frequent Trump spokesman on television, Scaramucci initially supported Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and then former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush before supporting Trump.

He also served as an executive member of Trump’s transition team.

Scaramucci donated more than $210,000 to  “super PACs,’’ political committees and joint fundraising committees supporting Trump in the last two years, according to  Federal Election Commission records.

He donated over $177,000 to the Republican National Committee in the same period, according to the FEC.

Scaramucci, a registered Republican, donated money to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, as well as Rand Paul’s and Jeb Bush’s 2016 bids for president, according to FEC records.

He also donated money to Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.

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