Stephanie Grisham, chief of staff for first lady Melania Trump, and two other White House officials have resigned amid the chaos that descended on Capitol Hill as protesters demonstrated against the certification of President-elect Joe Biden's win.
Grisham submitted her resignation Wednesday afternoon as some demonstrators got violent and broke into the Capitol building. She confirmed her resignation to the Washington Examiner.
"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."
Stephanie Grisham has resigned - First Lady's top aide tells @ABC “It has been an honor to serve the country in the White House. 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.”
— John Santucci (@Santucci) January 7, 2021
Grisham, who also served as White House communications director and press secretary, was one of the longest-serving members of the Trump administration. She worked for Trump's campaign in 2015 and entered the White House as a deputy to then-press secretary Sean Spicer.
At one point, Grisham filled three roles at the same time — White House communications director, press secretary, and communications director for the first lady. Grisham left Trump's team to work exclusively for Melania Trump after a series of clashes with chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Her resignation comes two weeks before Trump leaves office and hours after Trump supporters breached the Capitol Hill complex, inciting chaos and disrupting Congress's certification of the Electoral College vote.
Shortly after news of Grisham's departure broke, deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews released a statement announcing her departure from the White House as a result of the violence that rocked Capitol Hill.
"I was honored to serve in the Trump administration and proud of the policies we enacted," Matthews said. "As someone who worked in the hall of Congress I was deeply disturbed by what I saw today. I'll be stepping down from my role, effective immediately. Our nation needs a peaceful transfer of power."
.@WhiteHouse Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews resigns from the Trump Administration in response to today’s events. I have always known her to be a good person who has the best interests of the nation at heart. pic.twitter.com/4ZMfmM2Zl3
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) January 7, 2021
In addition, Rickie Niceta, the White House social secretary, submitted her resignation Wednesday, according to ABC News.
The White House social secretary Rickie Niceta has submitted her resignation tonight in reaction to today's protest, a source with direct knowledge tells @ABC
— John Santucci (@Santucci) January 7, 2021
The president repeatedly stoked the chaos throughout the day, repeating claims of widespread voter fraud and telling his supporters that "we will never give up" and "we will never concede."
After the Capitol was breached, Trump made several appeals to law and order and asked his supporters for peace, but he still claimed he won the election. He also said in a now-deleted tweet: "These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots."
The wave of resignations prompted speculation that more departures would be announced in the coming hours.
Source close to Trump says more resignations are expected in the next 24 hours.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 7, 2021