Melania Trump drops adviser amid backlash over inaugural contract

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS 

First Lady Melania Trump cut ties with a longtime friend turned adviser whose company was paid nearly $26 million to plan President Trump’s inauguration.(ERIK S. LESSER/EPA)

First Lady Melania Trump cut ties with a longtime friend turned adviser whose company was paid nearly $26 million to plan President Trump’s inauguration.

The first lady’s spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham confirmed the “gratuitous” contract with “special government employee” Stephanie Winston Wolkoff had been severed, The New York Times reported.

Wolkoff, who previously planned the Met Gala under Vogue editor Anna Wintour, created WIS Media Partners in the weeks ahead of the 2017 inauguration and received $25.8 million for her services, according to a tax filing.

Grisham defended the First Lady and said she “had no knowledge of how the funds were spent.”

When the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee received a record $107 million in donations, Chairman Thomas J. Barrack Jr. vowed to use the funds wisely and donate the remaining amount to charities.

Wolkoff created WIS Media Partners in the weeks ahead of the 2017 inauguration and received $25.8 million for her services planning the event. (DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES)

The Trumps were upset when The Times revealed $57 million of the money went to four event planning companies, with only $5 million given to charities.

The President was also enraged that Wolkoff brought on associate David Monn, who received $3.7 million to help plan the event.

Wolkoff defended the cost of producing the event and said most of the money went toward subcontractors, leaving the company only $1.62 million, which was then split between 15 employees.

She also highlighted her relationship to Melania Trump, adding that she “expect[s] to remain a trusted source for advice and support on an informal basis.”