In an unexpected shake-up, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham has announced that she is leaving her post nine months into the job.
Grisham will be assuming a new role as chief of staff to first lady Melania Trump. She had continued to represent the first lady while also holding the titles of press secretary and White House communications director since June of last year.
She will be replaced by two women who are familiar names inside the Trump administration. Trump campaign spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany will be joining the administration as press secretary, while Pentagon spokeswoman Alyssa Farah will be moving to the White House in a strategic communications role.
The surprise shakeup comes as the president continues to battle in the biggest crisis of his administration, with the Wuhan virus pandemic spreading across the country, killing more than 10,000 people so far and fundamentally transforming American life while plunging the economy into what is expected to be a major recession.
Grisham, who succeeded Sarah Sanders and Sean Spicer, had been largely sidelined during the COVID-19 pandemic and since Mark Meadows, the president’s new chief of staff, began to assume control.
Over the last several weeks, Trump has been personally leading near-daily press briefings, intent on combating the media spin on the federal government’s response to the pandemic.
Grisham had said when she took on the role that she was willing to hold press briefings, but never did, citing the fact that the president frequently fields questions from reporters himself. The president had largely ended the practice even before Grisham assumed the role, when Sanders held the position.
The role of press secretary has been a particularly challenging under Trump, who often takes the role of spokesman, communications director and strategist personally.
Grisham’s new role was confirmed by the first lady, who said in a statement that Lindsay Reynolds, her chief of staff for the past three years, had resigned earlier this week to spend more time with her family.
“I continue to be honored to serve both the President and First Lady in the Administration,” Grisham said in a statement. “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.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this article