Melania Trump's New Chief Of Staff Hayley Harrison Has Shady Past With Donald

As Donald Trump prepares for his second presidential term with some divisive cabinet picks, his wife Melania Trump is also getting ready to reluctantly return to her role as first lady. On November 22, 2024, Melania confirmed that she'd begun assembling her own team, and Hayley Harrison would serve as her chief of staff. Harrison notably has a longstanding connection to the Trumps. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, her office pointed out, "Mrs. Harrison has maintained an integral role and exceptional leadership on the first lady's team over the past seven years." Unfortunately, Harrison is also purportedly connected to one of Donald's most infamous legal debacles. 

According to ABC News, in the case involving classified documents being wrongfully held at Mar-a-Lago, Harrison was allegedly designated as "Trump Employee 1." In the indictment, "Trump Employee 1" was involved in some discussions surrounding the location of paperwork, reportedly writing, "There is still a little room in the shower where his other stuff is. Is it only his papers he cares about?" In 2022, it was discovered that Donald was incorrectly storing a startling number of classified documents — over 700 pages' worth in fact. A year later, photos from the case's indictment revealed stacks upon stacks of boxes, some of which flanked the space between a shower and toilet. 

However, it's not likely that the scope of Harrison's supposed involvement will be exposed more extensively in the coming years. The case was eventually dropped in July 2024, after the presiding judge determined that the handling of the proceedings had conflicted with constitutional laws.

When Hayley Harrison began working for Donald and Melania Trump, her last name was D'Antuono. While working in the White House, she met and married William Harrison. Before that, she was employed by Texas congressman John Ratcliffe. In March 2017, Ratcliffe gave her a glowing review as she switched jobs. "I'd like to thank Hayley D'Antuono for her incredible contributions to TX-04 over the last 2+ years as my Office Manager and Scheduler," Ratcliffe wrote on Facebook. "She's starting tomorrow working for First Lady Melania Trump who I know will be very lucky to have her."

According to Legistorm, Harrison began as Melania's scheduler. She was promoted multiple times, eventually working in a dual role as a special assistant to the president as well as Melania's director of operations. In between Donald's presidential terms, Harrison continued her employment with the family privately, serving as Melania's chief of staff. Besides her alleged connection to the classified documents case, Harrison's new White House role has a turbulent past with the former first couple too. 

Previously, Stephanie Grisham was Melania's chief of staff until she spectacularly resigned following the January 6 Capitol insurrection. Grisham then wrote an exposé of her experiences entitled "I'll Take Your Questions Now." In the tell-all book, Grisham detailed the complicated emotions she felt while working for the Trumps. "Mrs. Trump, she always remembered my birthday, she always asked me about my personal life," Grisham recalled to People, confessing, "I guess it lulled me into a false sense of security."