Stephanie Grisham, new White House press secretary, had controversial Arizona career

Stephanie Grisham, a veteran of Arizona politics who weathered controversial stints with then-Attorney General Tom Horne and then-House Speaker David Gowan, has been named the new White House press secretary.

The former Gilbert resident most recently served as a top aide to first lady Melania Trump, where she was a key architect of the first lady's anti-bullying campaign and helped her navigate controversies over a jacket with a seemingly flippant remark at the height of the family-separation crisis last year.

In Washington, she has been a fierce defender of Trump, the first lady and their family.

The first lady announced the move Tuesday morning on Twitter.

"I am pleased to announce @StephGrisham45 will be the next @PressSec & Comms Director! She has been with us since 2015 — @potus & I can think of no better person to serve the Administration & our country," she wrote. "Excited to have Stephanie working for both sides of the @WhiteHouse. #BeBest"

Grisham replaces Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is stepping down after two years of combative relations with the White House press corps, including throughout the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and the president's possible obstruction of the probe.

Grisham's career in Arizona

Before joining Trump's campaign in 2015, Grisham served as spokeswoman for Arizona Attorney General Horne, and the Republican majority at the Arizona House of Representatives.

In each of those roles her bosses were engulfed in controversy. But Grisham largely remained accessible to the media.

She defended Horne, the former attorney general, during the aftermath of an FBI investigation and as his reelection prospects began to sink. During Grisham's tenure, Horne was accused by a former staffer of using the Attorney General's Office as a de facto campaign office, with top staff working on state time to raise money for his reelection, plan campaign events and develop talking points to deploy against his challengers.

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"She's a great advocate for the person she's working for. She's very friendly, easy to be around, and she's very effective," Horne said. "She has good relationships with reporters. And she is very committed to her work. I think people in Washington notice that in her defenses of the president’s wife. She hit back hard when they’ve made unfair criticisms."

At the state Capitol, she sparred with reporters over access to the House floor. Her then-boss, embattled Republican House Speaker David Gowan, issued a order that reporters undergo extensive criminal and civil background checks before accessing the House floor to speak with lawmakers. The order, widely seen as retaliation for coverage of scandals involving Gowan, was lifted under pressure from state lawmakers and media outlets.

Former state Rep. Bruce Wheeler, D-Tucson, said Grisham was good at her job but didn't always serve the public interest, especially when it came to Gowan, R-Sierra Vista, who overbilled the state for his personal and political travels.

"In my experience down at the Legislature, she's going to do the job her superiors demand. In this case, the president," he said. "I saw how she served as adequate, effective flack for the speaker of the House of Representatives in not answering important questions and providing critical information when requested.

"On a number of issues, all the troubles the speaker had, she was always trying to deflect and protect the speaker. I think she will be an effective flack for the president."

Tom Ryan, a lawyer who represented the whistleblower who complained that Horne inappropriately used official resources, said Grisham overstepped the boundaries separating official and campaign duties while working for Horne.

Grisham was with Gowan as he traveled the state using state cars while running for Congress, he said.

After working on the Trump campaign, Grisham returned to her job at the state Legislature and for two months resumed her high-paying state job even as she worked on the Trump transition team, Ryan said.

“You would think she would know the difference between what’s appropriate and not appropriate,” Ryan said. “She has a longstanding history of shady and questionable practices.

“It will be Sarah Huckabee Sanders on steroids. She will be an aggressive defender of everything Trump,” Ryan said.

Jack Wilenchik, a Phoenix lawyer whose firm represented Grisham and Horne, said Ryan's attacks were off target.

"I have no idea what Tom Ryan is talking about," Wilenchik said, saying he was unfamiliar with any of the criticism Ryan made. "She has done a great job as spokeswoman for Melania Trump and Tom Horne."

Andrew Pacheco, an attorney and former criminal division chief in the Attorney General’s Office and a former assistant U.S. attorney, described Grisham as "smart, focused and dedicated" to her job and her colleagues.

"She's steely under pressure," he said Tuesday morning. "She keeps her focus on things that need to get done and doesn’t get distracted by things that don’t matter."

White House controversies

Upon accepting a White House job during Trump's transition, Grisham disclosed that in 2013 and 2015 she had been stopped for driving under the influence, according to the Washington Post.

Grisham has found herself at the edge of controversy in the White House. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, a federal watchdog agency noted that she was at risk of violating the Hatch Act, the law that prohibits government employees from political work using official time and resources. That came in July 2018 after she tweeted about her three-year anniversary working for Trump.

Grisham frequently travels with the president during his many visits to Arizona and the West. She did not immediately respond to The Arizona Republic's request for comment.

Grisham was one of Trump's early Arizona staffers. She helped arrange his campaign stops in Phoenix and around the state and region throughout the 2016 GOP primary race, a role that quickly expanded to include his rallies around the U.S.

After his victory, Grisham was named a special adviser for operations and served on Trump's transition team.

"The first lady's very happy for her," Trump told reporters Tuesday. "It's a big job. It's a very big job. But we think Stephanie's going to do a fantastic job."

Have news to share about Arizona's U.S. senators or national politics? Reach the reporter on Twitter and Facebook. Contact her at yvonne.wingett@arizonarepublic.com and 602-444-4712.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Stephanie Grisham, new White House press secretary, had controversial Arizona career