Stephanie Grisham leaves White House press secretary post

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Stephanie Grisham is leaving her position as the White House press secretary and will return to her previous post as the first lady’s spokesperson.
• Her exit transpired in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak and while the Trump administration faces growing criticisms on how the crisis was being handled.
• Grisham was self-quarantining after making contact with a Brazilian official who tested positive for COVID-19, though her test came out negative.

White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham is stepping down after nearly 10 months of service and will rejoin Melania Trump’s team as the first lady’s spokesperson and chief of staff.

“I am excited to welcome Stephanie back to the team in this new role… She has been a mainstay and true leader in the administration from even before day one, and I know she will excel as chief of staff,” the first lady said in a statement.

Grisham succeeded Sarah Huckabee Sanders last July, becoming the third White House press secretary of President Donald Trump. In her nine-month service, she never held any formal press conference at the White House, including the recent briefings on COVID-19 which the president attended himself.

In a statement, Grisham mentioned that she remains honored to be of service to both President Trump and the first lady. “My replacements will be announced in the coming days, and I will stay in the West Wing to help with a smooth transition for as long as needed,” she said.

Grisham’s exit occurred in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak — while the current administration continues to face growing criticisms over its unpreparedness to mitigate the virus and failure to provide frontliners with enough medical supplies.

Grisham’s departure also happened just a few days after Mark Meadows assumed as the administration’s new chief of staff. According to a report by Axios last week, Meadows had been in private discussions, suggesting either to appoint Pentagon spokesperson Alyssa Farah or Trump campaign spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany as the new press secretary.

Grisham, however, told Axios, “Sounds like more palace intrigue to me, but I’ve also been in quarantine. If true, how ironic that the press secretary would hear about being replaced in the press.”

Grisham was on self-quarantine after learning that a Brazilian official she made contact with had tested positive for COVID-19, though she tested negative when the result came out.

The 43-year-old former press secretary previously worked as the communications director of Melania Trump. She also joined Trump’s presidential campaign team in 2015 and also worked for Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential elections.

Source: AOL.com