President-elect Donald Trump has been naming prospective members of his new administration at a lightning-fast pace, and now it appears that the former -- and future -- first lady has also begun the process of choosing key personnel for her White House office.
As The Hill reports, Melania Trump announced on Friday the selection of longtime aide and confidante Hayley Harrison to serve as her chief of staff as she makes yet another transition to the East Wing.
Mrs. Trump's office made the announcement of Harrison's new role in a post on X, touting her longstanding ties to the incoming first lady.
“Mrs. Harrison has maintained an integral role and exceptional leadership on the First Lady's team over the past seven years,” the statement began.
Melania Trump's office continued, “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.”
The appointment of Harrison to this key role in Mrs. Trump's office represents the first such hire following Donald Trump's Nov. 5 victory against Kamala Harris.
As USA Today notes, Harrison's tenure as a Trump insider includes Donald Trump's first term in office as well as the post-presidential period during which the family relocated to Palm Beach, Florida.
Harrison's involvement in Mrs. Trump's post-White House life was so substantial that she was later identified as “Trump Employee 1” in special counsel Jack Smith's classified documents indictment of Donald Trump.
The Washington Examiner reported that court filings indicated that Harrison had sent text messages to another Trump staffer in regard to the need to move the documents at issue out of the Mar-a-Lago business center to another location so that staff would have sufficient room to work.
Hayley Harrison's husband, William “Beau” Harrison, also has a history of strong ties to the Trump family, also having been the subject of a grand jury interview before charges were lodged against Donald Trump and his aide, Walt Nauta.
The questioning revolved around Harrison's prior role coordinating relocation logistics with the General Services Administration ahead of the Trumps' move back to Florida in 2021.
As the Examiner suggested, it is far from clear that Mrs. Trump has any plans to move back to the White House on a full-time basis, with all indications suggesting that she will split time between her homes in New York City and Palm Beach Florida, traveling to D.C. when official needs dictate.
Mrs. Trump has made it clear, however, that her prior experience as first lady has prepared her well to make critical personnel decisions such as the appointment of Harrison, explaining in late October, “So when you go in, you know exactly what to expect. You know what kind of people you need to get.” Hopefully, she can now rely on the sort of staff loyalty that all too often proved elusive last time around.
