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Maxine Waters Roasts Sean Spicer On His Way Out The Door

by Chris Tognotti
Alex Wong/Getty Images News/Getty Images

On Friday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer resigned from his position, bringing his tenure to an end after just six months. The news set off a downpour of reactions from mainstream media, social media, and Washington, D.C. insiders alike, and one California congresswoman had a particularly sharp-elbowed take. Specifically, Rep. Maxine Waters tweeted her congratulations to Spicer, saying that his decision to resign proves at least one thing: He has more guts than Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Waters, who's been a member of the House of Representatives for more than 25 years, has long been a staunch critic of the Trump administration, especially on the topic of the ongoing Trump-Russia scandal. She's also loudly condemned Attorney General Jeff Sessions ― during his confirmation process back in March, she called him "a racist" and "a throwback," and has publicly called for his resignation.

And since he failed to resign earlier this week, even after Trump harshly criticized him in an interview with The New York Times, Waters decided to cue up a joke at his expense. It might be one of the rare examples of her saying something complimentary about Spicer, too, although it was clearly meant as a backhanded compliment.

It's no surprise that Waters was ready to sling a joke the moment Spicer's resignation was announced. As far as members of Congress go, she's long had one of the more blunt, straightforward, and punchy Twitter accounts around, and her joke about Spicer and Sessions is representative of that.

As for what's next for Spicer, it's a little too early to say for certain, but given his years of experience as a GOP political aide, and his many associations and connections within the Republican establishment, it wouldn't be a shock to see him land a media job in the weeks and months to come. For the time being, however, he's not yet officially out of his White House job ― according to his Twitter account, Spicer intends to "continue his service through August."

It's unclear who will replace Spicer in the White House's daily ― or recently, not-so-daily ― press briefings. In recent weeks, his deputy Sarah Huckabee Sanders has taken an increasingly high-profile role, so she would ostensibly be one possible option. It's also unclear what effect Scaramucci's entrance into the communications department will have on the White House's messaging, although he reportedly enjoys the support of President Trump, Jared Kushner, and Ivanka Trump.