Stephanie Grisham will soon become one of the most exposed faces in the White House, as she has taken the podium as both White House press secretary and communications director while maintaining her role as the spokeswoman for the East Wing.

U.S. President Donald Trump made the appointment after Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced her resignation earlier last month following a turbulent tenure lasting two-and-a-half years. Grisham has also filled the vacancy of the Trump administration's communications director since Bill Shine departed in March.

She is part of the shrinking team of Trump's loyal aides that accompanied him since the very beginning of his campaign. At a press conference on her nomination for the role, Trump hailed her as "talented" and "incredible." Melania Trump also expressed support on Twitter, tweeting "Excited to have Stephanie working for both sides of the @WhiteHouse" on June 25.

It seems that after a record-setting rate of personnel turnover, Trump maintains trust for his dwindling number of long-standing aides. But with a closer and clearer relationship with the president and the first family, will Grisham stay with them or follow in the footsteps of Sarah Sanders?

A staunch defender of Melania Trump

Grisham started working for the first lady in March 2017 after serving as deputy press secretary under Sean Spicer in the West Wing. She revealed that she moved to the East Wing because she no longer had to work 15 hours a day like she did under Spicer and could work from home when necessary. 

"The First Lady is very, very supportive of me," said the single mother of two boys.

She helped shape Melania's "Be Best" initiative, including its online anti-bullying campaign, defended the first couple mired in rumors of discord and separation last year, and asked the press to stop focusing on the first lady's wardrobe.

Among other things, she made headlines last fall after Melania's first solo overseas trip. A dust-up over airplane seating en route to Africa incensed the first lady and her aides. At the time, Mira Ricardel, then-deputy national security adviser, was infuriated that a seat for a National Security Council member had been reassigned to media staff.

The skirmish, which fermented after they returned to the White House, ultimately led to the dismissal of Ricardel. That happened after Grisham issued a statement which said, "It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House." It was the first case in which the East Wing triggered the layoff of a West Wing staffer, notwithstanding the fact that she was under John Bolton.

A history of involvement in Arizona politics

Grisham's ascent to become the media face of the Trump White House began in Arizona, where she was engaged in public relations work for Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign against former U.S. president Barack Obama. By then, she had a small public relations firm that worked on behalf of clients advocating for educational reform.

Former state attorney Tom Horne noted Grisham's ability to grease the wheels of the media, saying she was a "great advocate for the person she's working for," had "good relationships with reporters," and was "very effective."

After helping deal with the press at Trump's Phoenix rally in 2015, Grisham joined his campaign, serving as his press director on the trail. Together with Trump's other aides, they crisscrossed the country for the then-underdog candidate's speeches and debates. When he took office, she worked under Sean Spicer before serving as Melania Trump's communications director starting 2017.

Friend or foe to the media?

Her outgoing predecessor Sanders earned a reputation for being media poison during her tenure, with a meager number of White House press conferences. According to the New York Times, she  appeared at the public briefings just once a month from September to December last year. 

The White House journalist corps disliked Sanders, who had always stood by the president, flaying her for a departure from this century-long tradition. In a statement, the White House Correspondents' Association described it as a "retreat from transparency and accountability."

Many wonder whether Grisham could be media-friendly and what stances she would take in what too often seems to be an administration in a maelstrom.

"She actually gets along with the media," commented Trump.

The latest incident appears to prove Trump right. During the president's brief tour to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) after his G20 attendance in Osaka, Grisham got injured in a brawl with DPRK guards in order to let in American reporters capture the historic moment. Her courage in the pushing and shoving might be a harbinger for a friendlier media relationship.

But her defensive nature toward the first family, who are on many occasions at odds with the media, is also likely to plunge her into the same predicament as that of her predecessor.