First lady Melania Trump announced Tuesday that top aide Stephanie Grisham has been selected to replace outgoing White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Trump wrote on Twitter that Grisham will also assume the role as White House communications director, a position she held under the first lady. “I can think of no better person to serve the Administration & our country. Excited to have Stephanie working for both sides of the @WhiteHouse,” she said. CNN reports Grisham will remain as the first lady’s spokesperson.
Following President Donald Trump’s election, Grisham was appointed Deputy Press Secretary for Sean Spicer and was later moved to the first lady’s office in March 2017.
Sanders, who announced earlier June that she will depart the White House at month’s end, said that Grisham “will be an incredible asset to the President and the country.”
“Proud to have another mom and a great friend in this role,” added Sanders.
In a Monday interview with The Hill, President Trump said replacing Sanders is “not gonna be easy.”
A 2018 Daily Beast report, citing three sources who worked with Grisham on the 2016 campaign trail, stated the incoming White House press secretary is both a “highly competent” and “self-aware” communications specialist, who periodically enjoys “trolling the press” in statements.
Grisham previously served as an aide for Sen. Mitt Romney’s (R-UT) 2012 presidential campaign and then as a spokesperson for the Arizona attorney general’s office. She also served as an aide for President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and transition team.