A profanity-laced exchange with a reporter has forced a behind-the-scene feud between White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci and chief of staff Reince Priebus into the public arena.
Scaramucci, who has been in his position for only a week, posted a tweet Wednesday suggesting that Priebus could be the source of leaks coming from the White House. He followed the tweet, which has since been deleted, with an on-air phone call to CNN complaining about leaks and mentioning Priebus again. On Thursday in an interview with New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza, he called Priebus a "paranoid schizophrenic, a paranoiac."
For his part, Priebus, who has been a well-liked political operative for many years, has not responded publicly to Scaramucci.
So, who is Priebus and how did he get where he is today? Here's a look at Trump's chief of staff.
- Reince (rhymes with pints) Priebus was born Reinhold Richard Priebus in Dover, New Jersey, on March 18, 1972. His father is of German descent; his mother is Greek.
- His family moved to Wisconsin when he was 7.
- He graduated cum laude from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, then attended the University of Miami School of Law where he also graduated cum laude.
- He worked for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in Los Angeles as an intern while in law school, though he said he wasn't in alignment with the group's ideology.
- He returned to Wisconsin to practice law.
- He ran for a seat in the Wisconsin State Senate in 2004. He lost.
- In 2009, he became the general counsel for the Republican National Committee and managed the campaign of former RNC chairman Michael Steele. Two years later, he was elected chairman of the Republican National Committee.
- After the 2012 defeat of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Priebus oversaw the "Growth and Opportunity Project," a report looking into how the Republican Party should move forward. One suggestion from the report was that the party needed to appeal more to women and to be more inclusive.
- He believes marriage should only be between a man and a woman.
- He is pro-life.
- He is married to his high-school sweetheart, Sally. The two met at a church event. They have been married since 1999 and have two children.
- One of his best friends is Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, (R-Wisconsin).
- Priebus has criticized Trump over his comments about women and Trump's idea that Muslims be banned from entering the country.
- Before he came to be his chief of staff, Priebus suggested Trump get out of the race.
- He plays piano and is a fan of the Green Bay Packers: "Without question, I'm a Green Bay Packer fanatic. From every square inch of my body, I'm a Packer fan, without any hesitation or question."
