President-elect Donald Trump’s wife, Melania Trump, has selected her longtime aide, Hayley Harrison, as her chief of staff upon her return to the East Wing of the White House.
The appointment marks the incoming first lady’s first hire for the new administration.
“Mrs. Harrison has maintained an integral role and exceptional leadership on the First Lady’s team over the past seven years,” her office announced on Nov. 22. “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.”
Harrison, née D’Antuono, was Melania Trump’s senior operations manager in the first Trump administration before she was promoted to the roles of special assistant to the president and director of operations for the Office of the First Lady. She is married to William “Beau” Harrison, another former Trump White House aide.
Beau Harrison was notably involved in the transfer of the Trumps’ documents and belongings from the White House into storage when they left Washington in 2021.
Donald Trump was later prosecuted by special counsel Jack Smith over his retention of classified documents from his presidential term. That case was dismissed earlier this year, though Smith has filed an appeal. It remains unclear whether he will drop the case entirely now that the 45th president is slated to become the 47th president.
Like her husband, Melania Trump has had difficulties with former staff members. Her former chief of staff Stephanie Grisham resigned from her post on Jan. 6, 2021, following the U.S. Capitol breach.
Grisham, who also served as the White House press secretary, has since become a vocal critic of her former bosses. She publicly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president at the Democratic National Convention in August.
Since his victory over Harris on Nov. 5, the president-elect has been quick to select his Cabinet members and met with President Joe Biden at the White House on Nov. 13 to kickstart the transition of power.
“Mrs. Trump will not be attending today’s meeting at the White House. Her husband’s return to the Oval Office to commence the transition process is encouraging, and she wishes him great success,” her office said in a statement.
For days, rumors swirled that she planned to reject the visit due to the FBI raid on the Trumps’ Palm Beach estate Mar-a-Lago in August 2022.
Her office said in a statement posted on social media platform X that those claims were “false, misleading, and inaccurate information.”
