Stephanie Grisham at a Trump campaign rally in Orlando, Fla., June 18, 2019. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Melania Trump’s communications director Stephanie Grisham will succeed Sarah Sanders as White House press secretary and communications director, the first lady announced on Twitter Tuesday.

I am pleased to announce @StephGrisham45 will be the next @PressSec & Comms Director! She has been with us since 2015 – @potus & I can think of no better person to serve the Administration & our country. Excited to have Stephanie working for both sides of the @WhiteHouse. #BeBest — Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) June 25, 2019

Sanders, who announced her resignation earlier this month, predicted her successor will be “a great asset to the president” in a congratulatory tweet moments after the announcement was made.

@StephGrisham45 will be an incredible asset to the President and the country. I’m sad to leave the WH, but so happy to leave our team in such great hands. Stephanie will do a phenomenal job. Proud to have another mom and a great friend in this role. https://t.co/OYvwL0E1JU — Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) June 25, 2019

Grisham will also assume the responsibilities of White House communications director, a post that’s been left vacant since former Fox News executive Bill Shine resigned in March.



Grisham, 39, has established a reputation as a fiercely loyal, and often combative, spokeswoman since joining the Trump campaign in 2015. She then served on the transition team and as then-press secretary Sean Spicer’s deputy before moving to the East Wing, where she has won the support of the first lady.

While she has managed to maintain a much lower profile than her predecessor, Grisham has lashed out against Trump critics in the media in numerous op-eds and took the rare step of issuing a public statement after the president’s first wife, Ivana Trump, referred to herself as the first lady.

It remains unclear whether Grisham, who will become the third White House press secretary to serve the administration, will revive the traditional daily briefings that elapsed under Sanders. It has been more than 100 days since the last such briefing.

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