Melania Trump names longtime aide as East Wing chief of staff

Incoming first lady Melania Trump has named her longtime aide Hayley Harrison as her East Wing chief of staff.

“Mrs. Harrison has maintained an integral role and exceptional leadership on the First Lady’s team over the past seven years. She has a strong understanding of White House operations, and as Chief of Staff, Mrs. Harrison will oversee and manage the East Wing’s team while strategically liaising with other parts of government,” Melania Trump’s office said Friday on social platform X. 

The move represents Trump’s first hire in the East Wing since her husband, President-elect Trump, won the 2024 presidential election against Vice President Harris earlier this month.

Toward the end of Trump’s first term, Stephanie Grisham served as Melania Trump’s chief of staff but resigned shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Melania Trump was largely absent from the campaign trail during her husband’s 2024 White House run. She rarely appeared at events, but she hosted two fundraisers for the LGBTQ group Log Cabin Republicans this year, one was in New York and the other in Florida. 

She did not join her husband during the president-elect’s meeting at the White House with President Biden earlier this month, which traditionally marks the peaceful transition of power. 

The former first lady drew headlines last month when she shared her support for abortion rights in her new memoir titled “Melania.”