Rumors Are Flying That Kellyanne Conway Could Replace "The Mooch"

Following the short and not-so-sweet tenure of Anthony "The Mooch" Scaramucci, at least one outlet is reporting that Kellyanne Conway could become Trump's communications director. Via an exclusive interview with an unnamed "White House insider," The Daily Caller claims that Conway is being considered for the role.

If Conway is "The Mooch"s heir apparent, she would work closely with press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and now-chief of staff Gen. John Kelly (currently serving his second working day in the Trump administration, having fired Scaramucci on his first). Like Gen. Kelly, Conway is a trusted and beloved member of Trump's inner circle: She served as his campaign manager for the final stretch of his ultimately successful 2016 campaign, and was promoted to counselor to the president when Trump took office.

Unlike Gen. Kelly, Conway has found herself relentlessly mocked in her position as Trump's outreach guru. Who could forget the "alternative facts" snafu? The time that she used flash cards to make her point? The "Bowling Green massacre" that never happened? The time she defended Michael Flynn and Trump's relationship, hours before Flynn was fired? The day she was banned from Morning Joe? If Gen. Kelly fired Scaramucci to restore order to the White House communications office, as The New York Times claims, then appointing an advisor who has been roundly mocked and famously parodied on Saturday Night Live probably isn't the way to do it.

On the other hand, in spite of Trump famously seeking to distance himself from associates that become targets of mockery, the president has remained close to Conway when others have fallen by the wayside. Few people in his administration bar Gen. Kelly have outdone themselves, in Trump's eyes, but Conway helped win him the election, and Conway has stayed on-message despite the harshest of criticism.

Trump may have faith in Conway — she has, after all, weathered each and every Trump scandal longer than any other high-ranking official — but Gen. Kelly is reportedly pulling no punches when it comes to overhauling the White House's communications department. If Scaramucci, bold and brash as he may have been, was "too much" for the role, then it feels unlikely that Conway would be the next in line.