First Lady’s Chief Of Staff Stephanie Grisham Resigns After Violent Trump Protests In The Capitol

Stephanie Grisham, former White House communications director and press secretary and the current chief of staff for First Lady Melania Trump, resigned, effective immediately, from her position after violence erupted Wednesday in the U.S. Capitol.

Grisham began working for the Trump administration in 2015 as a press wrangler on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. She then served as deputy press secretary in the White House under Sean Spicer. In March 2017, Melania hired her as the East Wing communications director, quickly becoming the First Lady’s most prominent staffer.

“It has been an honor to serve the country in the White House,” Grisham said in a statement. “I am very proud to have been a part of Mrs. Trump’s mission to help children everywhere and proud of the many accomplishments of this Administration.”

Anna Cristina “Rickie” Niceta, White House social secretary, also resigned from her position Wednesday, effective immediately. Niceta oversaw all White House events, from small meetings to the annual Easter Egg Roll, state visits, galas and Halloween.

White House press aide Sarah Matthews also resigned Wednesday night. In a statement, Matthews said that she was honored to work in the Trump administration but “was deeply disturbed by what I saw today. Our nation needs a peaceful transfer of power.”

The staffers resignations come while the president only has two weeks left in office before President-Elect Joe Biden is inaugurated into office.

Violence occurred in Washington, D.C. Wednesday afternoon after Trump supporters broke into the Capitol building while Congress was voting to confirm the electoral college votes that would officially declare Biden as the next president of the United States. All politicians were moved to a safe space while the violence was occurring. The vote resumed late Wednesday night, officially declaring Biden the winner of the election.