Stephanie Grisham named new White House press secretary
Melania Trump's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham has been appointed as the next White House press secretary and communications director.
Ms Grisham, who has been the First Lady's communications director since March 2017, will take over from the president's current spokeswoman Sarah Sanders in July.
The appointment combines the job with the more strategic role of communications director, which has been vacant since March.
She takes on the role at a crucial period for Donald Trump, the US president, who formally launched his re-election campaign last week.
The president is known to place a high value on staff loyalty and Ms Grisham is one of a dwindling number of original staff from the 2016 election campaign to have remained in the White House.
Mr Trump fuelled speculation he was considering her for the post, describing her as "terrific" when discussing potential candidates.
Ms Grisham was part of the Trump campaign's communications team and originally served in the West Wing before she took over Mrs Trump's press team.
She has been a more frequent presence at the president's recent events, including ones the First Lady has not attended.
It remains to be seen whether Ms Grisham will resume the traditional White House press briefings, which have been few and far between under Mrs Sanders.
