White House Press Secretary Grisham Moves Back To First Lady's Office

White House press secretary and communications director Stephanie Grisham will step back from those roles and become chief of staff and spokesperson for the first lady, Melania Trump said on Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear who would fill the top communications jobs – jobs that President Trump, to a large extent, takes the lead on. Grisham said in a statement that her replacements would be announced in coming days.

Grisham, who is close to Melania Trump, was the third press secretary. Unlike her predecessors Sarah Sanders and Sean Spicer, Grisham did not do briefings, and played a more behind-the scenes role. She is one of the last remaining original Trump campaign staffers to still be working in the White House.

Melania Trump's former chief of staff Lindsay Reynolds resigned, the first lady said.

Grisham's change in job comes as Mark Meadows takes over as White House chief of staff.

In a statement to Axios reported last week, Grisham seemed unaware that she was on the verge of being replaced.

"Sounds like more palace intrigue to me, but I've also been in quarantine. If true, how ironic that the press secretary would hear about being replaced in the press," Grisham said in a statement to the publication.

Grisham had been in self-quarantine after a potential exposure to the coronavirus at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. [Copyright 2020 NPR]