White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers to step down

White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers will leave her job next month, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday.

Rogers hosted 330 events in 14 months on the job, according to the Sun-Times, and said that she had accomplished her goal of making the White House a more open place.

"As we turn the corner on the first year," Rogers told Sun-Times columnist Lynn Sweet, "this is a good time for me to explore opportunities in the corporate world."But Rogers also came under fire last November after Virginia socialites Michaele and Tareq Salahi crashed the White House's first state dinner.

Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee demanded that Rogers testify as to how they gained entry into the event. 

But White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in December that Rogers would not testify at hearings due to separation of powers.

Rogers told Sweet it has been "an honor and a privilege to serve this president and First Lady, in what has certainly been a historic presidency."

The White House issued a statement Friday afternoon about Rogers' decision: “We are enormously grateful to Desiree Rogers for the terrific job she’s done as the White House Social Secretary.  When she took this position, we asked Desiree to help make sure that the White House truly is the People’s House, and she did that by welcoming scores of everyday Americans through its doors, from wounded warriors to local schoolchildren to NASCAR drivers.  She organized hundreds of fun and creative events during her time here, and we will miss her.  We thank her again for her service and wish her all the best in her future endeavors.”