Stephanie Grisham will replace Sarah Huckabee Sanders as White House press secretary and communications director, First Lady Melania Trump announced on Tuesday. Prior to the position, Grisham served as deputy chief of staff and communications director to the first lady.
“She has been with us since 2015 – @potus & I can think of no better person to serve the Administration & our country,” Melania Trump wrote in a tweet announcing the news. “Excited to have Stephanie working for both sides of the @WhiteHouse. #BeBest.”
Sanders, who replaced the Trump White House’s original press secretary, Sean Spicer, in May 2017, announced that she will be leaving the White House at the end of the month.
Her position had become increasingly difficult after special counsel Robert Mueller’s report indicated that she lied to reporters about fired FBI director James Comey during briefings in 2017. She had not held a televised press conference since March.
“@StephGrisham45 will be an incredible asset to the President and the country,” Sanders wrote in a tweet. “I’m sad to leave the WH, but so happy to leave our team in such great hands. Stephanie will do a phenomenal job. Proud to have another mom and a great friend in this role.”
In 2017, Grisham was named deputy press secretary becoming a high-ranking aide to the first lady.
Prior to working with Trump, Grisham operated her own PR firm in Arizona, and in 2012 briefly worked on Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.