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Stephanie Grisham

Stephanie Ann Grisham (née Sommerville; born July 23, 1976) is an American former White House official.[1] She was the 32nd White House Press Secretary from 2019 until 2020 during the first Trump administration. At the same time, she was the White House Communications Director. She was also the Chief of Staff to First Lady Melania Trump. Grisham resigned from her role at the White House after Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Stephanie Grisham
Stephanie Grisham (54104975267) (cropped).jpg
Grisham in 2024
Chief of Staff to the First Lady of the United States
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 byKate Bedingfield
Personal details
Born
Stephanie Ann Sommerville

23 July 1976 (aged 49)
Colorado, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Dan Marries
​
​
(m. 1997; div. 2004)​

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

Early life

Stephanie Ann Sommerville was born in Colorado to a farming family.[2] She moved with her mother after her parents divorced to East Wenatchee, Washington.[3] She dropped out from Colorado Mesa University. Grisham began voting in Arizona as a registered Democrat in 1997.[4] She became a Republican after 2007.[4]

Early career

Grisham was the spokeswoman for AAA Arizona in 2007.[5] From about 2011 to 2014, Grisham was spokeswoman for Tom Horne after he was elected Arizona attorney general. After Horne lost his re-election to Mark Brnovich, Grisham worked as a spokesperson for the Arizona House of Representatives Republican caucus.[6]

In 2012, Grisham also worked for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign.[7] In September 2015, Grisham worked as a press coordinator for Pope Francis's 2015 visit to Philadelphia.[8]

In August 2015, Grisham started working as a press aide to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. After Trump won the 2016 election, Grisham was named a special adviser for operations and worked on Trump's transition team.[9][10][11] Arizona House speaker David Gowan paid her $19,000 in state salary over an 8-week period while she was a member of the Trump transition team.[12]

White House career

Grisham began her role as White House Press Secretary on July 1, 2019, working for President Donald Trump, and left on April 7, 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. During her tenure as Press Secretary she did not hold a briefing.[13] Before that job she was the press secretary of First Lady Melania Trump from March 27, 2017 through July 1, 2019.[14]

She was a member of Donald Trump's presidential transition team.[15]

Grisham resigned on April 7, 2020 and became Chief of Staff to the First Lady Melania Trump.[16]

On January 6, 2021, Grisham resigned from her position as First Lady Trump's Chief of Staff following the January 6, 2021 attack at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. by Trump supporters.[17]

Post-government career

After leaving the White House, Grisham became a critic of Trump.[18]

In September 2021, she announced the publication of her book about her time working in the Trump administration, I'll Take Your Questions Now.[19]

On January 5, 2022, Grisham testified to the January 6 Committee.[20] In August 2024, Grisham spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention and criticized Trump and his suppoters.[21]

Personal life

Grisham married Danny Don Marries in Nevada on April 7, 1997.[22] They met in college in Grand Junction, Colorado.[23] Her husband was a news anchor in Tucson, Arizona. They had one son, Kurtis.[7] They divorced in 2004.[24][25] Later in 2004, she married Todd Grisham, a sportscaster. They divorced in 2006. In 2007, Grisham had a second son, Jake.[22]

From 2019 until 2020, Grisham dated then-Trump White House aide Max Miller. Politico reported that the relationship ended in 2020 after an argument in which Miller allegedly pushed Grisham up against a wall and slapped her in the face after she accused him of cheating.[26][27]

Legal problems

On January 9, 2013, Grisham was pulled over for speeding in Gilbert, Arizona. It was later discovered she was drunk driving and was sentenced with two years probation.[28] On December 5, 2015, Grisham was arrested again in Phoenix, Arizona, for driving without her headlights on and for driving drunk again, violating her probation.[4] Grisham failed to appear at her court hearing on January 19, 2016, and was arrested.[28] Afterwards, Grisham pleaded guilty. In July 2016, she was ordered into a treatment program and to pay nearly $1,600 in court costs and fines.[28]

References

  1. ↑ Wagner, John (June 25, 2019). "First lady’s communications director to succeed Sarah Sanders as White House press secretary". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/first-ladys-communications-director-to-succeed-sarah-sanders-as-white-house-press-secretary/2019/06/25/f0da72cc-9768-11e9-916d-9c61607d8190_story.html. Retrieved June 25, 2019. 
  2. ↑ Hansen, Ronald J.. Stephanie Grisham's unlikely path from Arizona politics to White House press secretary (in en). azcentral. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  3. ↑ Carroll, Megan. New White House press secretary has ties to East Wenatchee (June 25, 2019)KREM (TV). Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Wingett Sanchez, Yvonne; Hansen, Ronald J (June 27, 2019). Stephanie Grisham's unlikely path from Arizona politics to White House press secretary. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/06/26/stephanie-grisham-path-new-white-house-press-secretary/1572350001/. Retrieved November 22, 2019. 
  5. ↑ Smith, Dylan (March 27, 2017). Ex-Tucsonan named spokeswoman for first lady Melania Trump. http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/032717_grisham/ex-tucsonan-named-spokeswoman-first-lady-melania-trump/. Retrieved October 17, 2018. 
  6. ↑ Small, Jim (April 8, 2016). This new background check policy is only the latest retaliation from Gowan's House. https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2016/04/08/this-new-background-check-policy-is-only-the-latest-retaliation-from-gowans-house/. Retrieved November 16, 2019. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lake, Kari (June 25, 2017). Single mother from the Valley working for the Trump White House. KSAZ-TV. http://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/arizona-news/single-mother-from-the-valley-working-for-the-trump-white-house. Retrieved October 17, 2018. 
  8. ↑ Pitzl, Mary Jo (September 26, 2015). "Arizona House spokeswoman prepping for the pope". The Republic. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/politicalinsider/2015/09/25/arizona-house-spokeswoman-prepping-pope/72826188/. Retrieved October 17, 2018. 
  9. ↑ Schedule B for ALL Line. docquery.fec.gov. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  10. ↑ Schedule B for Line. docquery.fec.gov. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  11. ↑ Schedule B for ALL Line. docquery.fec.gov. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  12. ↑ Stephenson, Hank. FLOTUS spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham on state payroll while on Trump's victory tour and transition team (April 25, 2017). Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  13. ↑ Grisham out as West Wing press secretary without having held a briefing. https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/07/politics/stephanie-grisham-press-secretary-briefing-melania-trump/index.html. 
  14. ↑ Pappas, Alex (June 25, 2019) (in en-US). Stephanie Grisham to be the new White House Press Secretary. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/stephanie-grisham-to-become-new-white-house-press-secretary-flotus-announces. Retrieved June 25, 2019. 
  15. ↑ Morrow, Brendan (March 27, 2017). "Stephanie Grisham: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know" (in en-US). Heavy.com. https://heavy.com/news/2017/03/stephanie-grisham-donald-melania-trump-campaign-white-house-communications-director-hire-job-bio-arizona-kids-children-photos/. Retrieved May 22, 2017. 
  16. ↑ CNN, Kaitlan Collins and Kate Bennett. Grisham out as West Wing press secretary without having held a briefing. CNN. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  17. ↑ Bennett, Kate. First lady's chief of staff and former WH press secretary resigns over violent protests. CNN. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  18. ↑ Popat, Shrai (2026-02-25). "Trump claims economic success while bashing supreme court and Democrats in longest State of the Union address in history – live" (in en-GB). the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/feb/24/trump-state-of-the-union-address-congress-watch-updates. Retrieved 2026-02-25. 
  19. ↑ Kim, Lisa (September 28, 2021). All The Surprising Trump Revelations In Ex-Press Secretary Grisham's New Book. https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisakim/2021/09/28/all-the-surprising-trump-revelations-in-ex-press-secretary-grishams-new-book/. Retrieved September 29, 2021. 
  20. ↑ Alexander, Peter. After meeting with Jan. 6 committee, former Trump press secretary Grisham says she 'cooperated fully' (in en). NBC News (January 6, 2022). Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Former White House press secretary says Trump has 'no morals and no fidelity to the truth' – video". The Guardian. August 20, 2024. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2024/aug/20/former-white-house-press-secretary-says-trump-has-no-morals-and-no-fidelity-to-the-truth-video. Retrieved August 20, 2024. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 McBride, Jessica. Is Stephanie Grisham Married? Learn About Her Ex Husband. Heavy.com (June 26, 2019). Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  23. ↑ Burch, Cathalena E. 'We've said our goodbyes:' KOLD anchor posts his pain. Arizona Daily Star (July 7, 2013). Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  24. ↑ Smith, Dylan (June 25, 2019). Ex-Tucsonan Grisham named press secretary for President Trump. http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/062519_grisham_trump/ex-tucsonan-grisham-named-press-secretary-president-trump/. Retrieved November 18, 2019. 
  25. ↑ Walters, Gillian (July 3, 2019). The Untold Truth of Stephanie Gresham. https://www.nickiswift.com/157527/the-untold-truth-of-stephanie-grisham. Retrieved July 13, 2019. 
  26. ↑ Kruse, Michael. 'He's a Great Guy': Trump's Favored Aide Has Troubled Past. Politico Magazine (July 28, 2021). Retrieved February 26, 2026.
  27. ↑ Exner, Rich (April 26, 2021). Ohio loses a congressional seat in apportionment from census 2020 results. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/07/28/max-miller-ohio-congress-trump-profile-500187. Retrieved April 28, 2021. 
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 Like So Many Of His Associates, Donald Trump's New Press Secretary Has Posed For Some Mug Shots (in en). The Smoking Gun (August 28, 2019). Retrieved November 15, 2019.

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