Melania Trump announces her first major appointment to the White House

Melania Trump announced her first major hire ahead of her return as first lady, naming a longtime Trump loyalist as her chief of staff.

Hayley Harrison, who worked in the East Wing during Donald Trump’s first administration and joined the Trumps in Florida after they left the White House, was appointed to the position.

Harrison, along with her husband William “Beau” Harrison, is a Trump White House staffer who joined the first couple at Mar-a-Lago during their post-presidency lives. Hayley and Beau traveled on Marine One with the Trumps from the White House on January 20, 2021.

The couple have remained in Trump’s inner circle and on the payroll: They are paid by Trump’s Save America PAC to work for the former president, according to Federal Election Commission reports. Hayley earned approximately $8,000 to $10,000 per month in salary. William earned a similar amount until November 2023, when he received his final payment from the PAC.

The chief of staff’s announcement noted Harrison’s longstanding loyalty — seven years to Melania Trump. Donald Trump has also stacked his staff with loyalists.

“Hayley Harrison has been appointed Chief of Staff to First Lady Melania Trump,” Melania’s office announced on social media.

‘Madam. Harrison has provided an integral role and exceptional leadership on the First Lady team for the past seven years. She has a deep understanding of White House operations, and as Chief of Staff, Ms. Harrison will oversee and lead the East Wing team while strategically engaging with other parts of the government.”

Harrison, who then used her maiden name D’Antuono, was director of operations in the East Wing during the first Trump term. She married William “Beau” Harrison, a low-level West Wing staffer.

After their time in Washington with the Trumps, the Harrison’s moved to Florida to work at Mar-a-Lago, with Hayley working for Melania and William for Donald.

William “Beau” Harrison was the staffer who organized the Trumps’ move from the White House to their home in Palm Beach.

Both Hayley and William Harrison were part of the federal investigation into the classified documents that ended up at Trump’s Florida estate.

Special counsel Jack Smith’s federal complaint against the case said Hayley Harrison and Molly Michael, another Trump aide, were “Trump Employee 1” and “Trump Employee 2,” respectively.

The indictment details their back-and-forth text messages about moving Trump’s boxes out of the business center at his Mar-a-Lago estate to create space for staff to work.

Michael no longer works for the Trumps, but Hayley remains Melania’s assistant.

‘There’s a little spot in the shower where his other stuff is. Is he only concerned about his papers?’ Trump Employee 1, identified as Hayley Harrison, wrote Trump Employee 2, identified as Michael, according to the complaint.

‘There are some other things in there that aren’t papers. Could that go to storage? Or does he want everything there on the premises?’

William “Beau” Harrison was interviewed by the grand jury ahead of the indictment of Donald Trump and Walt Nauta, who serves as the former president’s personal assistant.

He led logistics with the General Services Administration for moving the Trumps’ properties out of Washington.