A top aide to Hillary Clinton described Huma Abedin on Monday as the "glue" that holds the former secretary of state's presidential campaign together after learning that Abedin plans to separate from her husband, former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner.

"Huma is like family, not just to Hillary Clinton but to the whole campaign," Jennifer Granholm, the vice chair of Clinton's transition team, told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell.

"She is like the glue and I'm sure that the whole campaign is hoping that people respect her privacy and grieve with her over what his happening," Granholm added. "They are all very supportive of her."

Abedin announced her separation from Weiner Monday morning, hours after the New York Post reported that he had exchanged lewd messages and photographs with a woman while the couple's 5-year-old son, Jordan, was in bed beside him. Weiner resigned from Congress in 2011 after he was caught sexting with various women on social media and later lost a mayoral bid in New York City after additional details about his extracurricular activities emerged.

"After long and painful consideration and work on my marriage, I have made the decision to separate from my husband," Abedin said in a statement on Monday. "Anthony and I remain devoted to doing what is best for our son, who is the light of our life. During this difficult time, I ask for respect for our privacy."

Granholm criticized Donald Trump on Monday over the Republican presidential nominee's suggestion that Abedin, a former aide to Clinton at the State Department, may have shared classified information with her husband in the past.

"That is ridiculous," she said. "I mean I think that Donald Trump and everyone else should respect the privacy of Huma Abedin, who is … an utterly graceful, wonderful human being who's going through a terrible situation and who's tried to keep her marriage together."