WASHINGTON: Former White House Press Secretary and Communications Director Stephanie Grisham resigned on Wednesday, hours after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol during the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Grisham resigned effective immediately on Wednesday afternoon, according to CNN, which first reported her exit.
She confirmed her resignation just before 8 p.m. EST on Twitter, saying she was proud of the accomplishments of the Trump administration and first lady Melania Trump, but not mentioning President Donald Trump by name.
It has been an honor to serve the country in the @WhiteHouse . I am very proud to have been a part of @FLOTUS @MELANIATRUMP mission to help children everywhere, & proud of the many accomplishments of this Administration. Signing off now - you can find me at @OMGrisham ??????
— Stephanie Grisham (@StephGrisham45) January 7, 2021
Grisham was Trump’s third press secretary, following Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, starting in the role and as White House communications director in June 2019. She never held a White House press briefing before moving to the role of chief of staff and spokesperson for the first lady in April 2020. Grisham was replaced by Kayleigh McEnany.
Grisham was one of Trump’s longest-serving staffers, joining his campaign in 2015 and initially serving as deputy press secretary after his inauguration.
Earlier on Wednesday, former White House communications director Alyssa Farah implored Trump to stop the insurrection, tweeting, “you are the only one they will listen to” and urging Trump’s supporters to regroup for future nonviolent political action.
Trump did not heed Farah’s advice, tweeting twice, once strongly in sympathy with the insurrectionists, before Twitter suspended his account for 12 hours and warned it would do so permanently after another violation.
