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First lady Melania Trump has been silent regarding the violence that occurred at the Capitol yesterday. Following the riots, several White House officials have been revealed to have turned in their resignation, including the first lady’s chief of staff.
Melania’s chief of staff Stephanie Grisham turned in her resignation Wednesday in the midst of the riots caused by crowds of Trump supporters at the Capitol. Grisham is one of the longest-serving officials in the Trump administration, having started working for Donald Trump in 2015 before becoming a deputy press secretary for Sean Spicer and then as the East Wing Communications Director in 2017. In 2019, Trump appointed her to be his third press secretary before ultimately returning to the East Wing as Melania’s chief of staff.
During her time as a White House official, Grisham apparently clashed often with current White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Grisham had already been considering leaving her post before Wednesday, according to people familiar with the matter. In recent months, Grisham reportedly expressed wanting to live closer to family in the midwest.
Aside from Grisham, other White House officials have also turned in their resignations effective immediately. White House social secretary Anna Cristina Niceta also stepped down from her post as well as White House press aide Sarah Matthews, who has since spoken out against the riots and called for a peaceful transfer of power. More and more officials are reportedly considering resigning, especially as the outgoing president has incited the riots to happen and refused to condemn the violence that was an attempt to derail the joint session.
With two weeks left until she leaves the White House and following the siege by pro-Trump terrorists on the Capitol, Melania reportedly is not looking to return to the East Wing in 2024. This may be a break from her husband, who has often floated around the idea of running in that year’s elections following his loss to Joe Biden. People aware of the matter revealed that the first lady would not be too happy about her husband’s aspirations to run for president again and just wants to return to Florida, where they are suspected to stay full-time.
