Melania Trump Severs Ties With Senior Adviser Who Made Millions Planning Inauguration

First lady Melania Trump has reportedly severed ties with adviser Stephanie Winston Wolkoff after news broke that Wolkoffs company was paid millions of dollars by President Donald Trumps inauguration committee .

Wolkoff, a longtime friend of the first ladys , had been working for her office on a contract basis as an unpaid senior adviser. The New York Times reported Monday that the first ladys office had decided to sever this contract a dismissal purportedly triggered by displeasure from the Trumps over news that Wolkoffs company had been paid almost $26 million to plan events for the presidential inauguration last year. A spokeswoman for Melania Trump said the first lady had no involvement with the inaugural committee and did not know how the funds were spent.

EXCLUSIVE: Met Gala mastermind Stephanie Winston Wolkoff has been tapped to plan Trump's inauguration events https://t.co/KuS2NSHYse pic.twitter.com/KNnoJ0qxec

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EXCLUSIVE: Met Gala mastermind Stephanie Winston Wolkoff has been tapped to plan Trump's inauguration events https://t.co/KuS2NSHYse pic.twitter.com/KNnoJ0qxec
Page Six (@PageSix) November 23, 2016

Wolkoffs hefty payout, reported by the Times earlier this month, was listed in tax filings recently released by the presidents inauguration committee. The documents revealed that the committee paid more than $57 million to four event-planning companies and donated a less-than-expected $5 million to charity.

Wolkoffs company, which was incorporated just six weeks before the inauguration, received the lions share of the funds (exactly $25,843,509 , according to CNN ). Wolkoff personally received $1.62 million, and a close friend and associate, David Monn, was paid almost $4 million to help plan events, reported the Times.

Trumps inauguration was considered the most expensive ever , according to Money magazine. Obamas 2009 inauguration was estimated to cost $170 million, or $190 million today after factoring in inflation. Trumps was estimated to have topped $200 million.

A White House official told Politico earlier this month that the millions Wolkoff and her firm received had really raised eyebrows .

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Thats a whole lot of money, especially when a bunch of that could have been donated to charity, the official said.

Wolkoff told the Times this week that, despite the dismissal, she still expected to remain a trusted source for advice for the first lady and to provide support on an informal basis.