Stephanie Grisham, first lady Melania Trump’s chief of staff and a former White House press secretary for President Donald Trump, resigned Wednesday over the violent insurrection on Capitol Hill, NBC News reported.
Grisham submitted her resignation letter Wednesday afternoon after pro-Trump extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol Building. The insurrection came after Trump rallied supporters in Washington to protest the Congressional count of the Electoral College ballots that will confirm Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s win.
“It has been an honor to serve the country in the White House. I am very proud to have been a part of Mrs. Trump’s mission to help children everywhere, and proud of the many accomplishments of this Administration,” Grisham said in a statement.
Pro-Trump rioters swarmed the chambers where lawmakers were carrying out the procedural count of electoral votes. Lawmakers evacuated to secure locations.
Several law enforcement officials said a woman who was shot inside the Capitol building during the chaos had died. The National Guard and state forces were mobilized to tamp down the insurrection.
Trump told insurrectionists to “go home” in a video posted to social media networks while continuing to spread false claims that the election was “stolen” through debunked conspiracies of widespread voter fraud. Facebook, Google‘s YouTube and Twitter have removed that video, and Twitter has suspended Trump’s account for at least 12 hours.
Leaders across political parties and around the world condemned the outgoing president and the violence on Capitol Hill.
Biden, in a nationally television address, said, “At this hour, our democracy is under unprecedented assault, unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times…President Trump, step up.”
Many Republicans and Trump allies admonished the president’s response to the insurrection and the violent rioters. Democrats talked on Wednesday of impeaching the outgoing president or ousting him from office through the Constitution’s 25th Amendment.
Congress on Wednesday night resumed the process to confirm Biden’s win after the Capitol Building had been secured.
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham (L) listens to U.S. President Donald Trump talk to reporters before he boards Marine One and departing the White House November 08, 2019 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
