It was Trump’s chief of staff Reince Priebus and strategist Stephen Bannon who informed the former hedge fund manager that he would not get the job as liaison to the business community, reports the New York Times.
He may, however, be given another role in future, a senior administration official told the US newspaper.
Chinese connection
The reason behind the withdrawal of Scaramucci’s appointment is the sale of his firm, SkyBridge Capital, to a division of HNA Group, a politically connected Chinese group that would become SkyBridge’s majority owner.
The sale has not yet completed but it would take up to three months for Scaramucci to be cleared of potential conflicts.
Fiduciary rule
Due to come into force by 10 April, the fiduciary rule has been referred to as the US equivalent of the UK’s retail distribution review (RDR).
It had been feared that Scaramucci’s appointment could signal the death knell for the fiduciary rule. In November, he said that the incoming Trump administration should dismantle the adviser reforms intended to put an end to hidden fees and conflicts of interest in the investment market.
“We’ve got to get rid of this,” he told The Financial Times.
Others take up the call
Other fierce critics of the legislation, however, remain.
A US congressman introduced a bill in early January that could delay implementation by at least two years.
Several industry groups, such as the National Association for Fixed Annuities (Nafa), have also launched legal challenges, although a US judge threw out the insurance body’s first appeal in November last year.
