Stephanie Grisham

Stephanie Grisham
Grisham in 2019
Chief of Staff to the First Lady
In office
April 7, 2020 – January 6, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
First LadyMelania Trump
Preceded byLindsay Reynolds
Succeeded byJulissa Reynoso Pantaleón
Press Secretary for the First Lady
In office
April 7, 2020 – January 6, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
First LadyMelania Trump
Preceded byHerself (2019)
Succeeded byMichael LaRosa
In office
March 27, 2017 – July 1, 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
First LadyMelania Trump
Preceded byJoanna Rosholm
Succeeded byHerself (2020)
32nd White House Press Secretary
In office
July 1, 2019 – April 7, 2020
PresidentDonald Trump
DeputyHogan Gidley
Preceded bySarah Huckabee Sanders
Succeeded byKayleigh McEnany
White House Communications Director
In office
July 1, 2019 – April 7, 2020
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byBill Shine
Succeeded byDan Scavino (White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications)
Personal details
Born
Stephanie Ann Sommerville

(1976-07-23) July 23, 1976 (age 48)
Colorado, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Dan Marries
​
​
(m. 1997; div. 2004)​

​
​
(m. 2004; div. 2006)​
Children2
EducationColorado Mesa University (no degree)

Stephanie Ann Grisham[1] (née Sommerville; born July 23, 1976) is an American former White House official who was the 32nd White House press secretary and served as White House communications director from July 2019[1][2][3] to April 2020.[4] She was chief of staff and press secretary for the first lady of the United States, Melania Trump from 2020 to 2021, after previously serving as her press secretary from 2017 to 2019.[5]

Grisham was a press aide to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign,[6][7] and then a member of the presidential transition team.[8][9][10] She was Trump's third White House press secretary, succeeding Sarah Huckabee Sanders,[11] and was the first White House press secretary to hold no press conferences,[12] instead opting for interviews on conservative news outlets.[4][13][14] Grisham assumed the role of chief of staff to the first lady on April 7, 2020.[15]

She resigned on January 6, 2021, in the hours immediately after the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol.[5] In September 2021, she announced the publication of her book about her time working in the Trump administration, I'll Take Your Questions Now.[16]

  1. ^ a b FitzSimmons, Cal (June 25, 2019). "Eastmont graduate named new press secretary for President Trump". NCW Life Channel. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference krem_20190625_Carroll was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Pappas, Alex (June 25, 2019). "Stephanie Grisham to be the new White House Press Secretary". FoxNews.com. Fox News. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Collins, Kaitlan Collins; Bennett, Kate (April 7, 2020). "Grisham out as West Wing press secretary without having held a briefing". CNN. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Bennett, Kate (January 7, 2021). "First lady's chief of staff and former WH press secretary resigns over violent protests". CNN. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  6. ^ Bach, Natasha (June 14, 2019). "Who Is Stephanie Grisham? She Just Replaced Sarah Sanders". Fortune Magazine. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  7. ^ Rogers, Katie; Karni, Annie (June 25, 2019). "Trump Names Stephanie Grisham, Aide to First Lady, as Sarah Sanders's Successor". New York Times. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  8. ^ Farhi, Paul (August 28, 2019). "Stephanie Grisham is Trump's communications czar. Only most people wouldn't know it". Washington Post. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  9. ^ Wingett Sanchez, Yvonne (January 19, 2017). "This Arizonan is going to the White House to work for Donald Trump". The Republic. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  10. ^ Howard, Andrew (June 25, 2019). "Trump taps Stephanie Grisham as White House spokeswoman". Arizona Capitol Times. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  11. ^ Santucci, John; Faulders, Katherine; Crawford, Shannon K. (April 7, 2020). "Grisham leaving as White House press secretary after holding no formal briefings". ABC News. Archived from the original on March 11, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  12. ^ "The short, strange tale of Stephanie Grisham, Trump's third – and invisible – press secretary". The Washington Post. April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  13. ^ Johnson, Ted (April 7, 2020). "Stephanie Grisham Departs As White House Press Secretary". Deadline. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  14. ^ Darcy, Oliver (November 11, 2019). "White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham has yet to hold a briefing with reporters, but finds time for Fox News". CNN. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  15. ^ "White House spokeswoman Grisham switches to first lady's staff". Reuters. April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  16. ^ Kim, Lisa (September 28, 2021). "All The Surprising Trump Revelations In Ex-Press Secretary Grisham's New Book". Forbes. Retrieved September 29, 2021.