By Betsy Klein, CNN

Washington (CNN) — First lady Melania Trump is returning to the East Wing bolstered by lessons from four years in an unelected job she has privately acknowledged was a whirlwind of responsibilities of which she was largely unaware.

This time, she says, will be different.

President Donald Trump and his team are returning to office with a deeper understanding of how to use the levers of federal government to enact their agenda. Similarly, the first lady is signaling that she has learned from her first term and the subsequent four years — and that she is preparing to take on a more prominent role.

Melania Trump spent the two months between Election Day and Inauguration Day engaged in intense preparation for a return to the White House, sources told CNN, studying foreign affairs, preparing on her own and joining her husband for dinners with VIPs at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.

This week, she returned to the world stage, saying little and seeing even less in a custom, wide-brimmed hat as her husband took his oath of office.

“It’s really clear that she has a confidence that we didn’t necessarily see the first time around. She understands not only what’s at stake for this administration, but what’s at stake for her,” said Kate Bennett, author of “Free, Melania” and a former journalist who extensively chronicled the first lady’s first term.

The notoriously private Trump has demonstrated an implicit recognition of the public’s curiosity about her — and that leaning into it could prove lucrative and strategic.

Her autobiography, published in October, remains a bestseller on Amazon and was a No. 1 New York Times bestseller when released. Shortly after the election, Amazon inked a multimillion-dollar licensing deal with Trump to film a documentary set for release later this year. There have been signs of documentary crews around the first lady during inaugural festivities. And on the eve of her husband’s inauguration, the incoming first lady unveiled an “official meme” available for purchase, a nonfungible token featuring a smiling photo of Trump, her hands partially obstructing her face.

It’s not unusual for modern first ladies to profit from the office, often publishing memoirs and hitting the public speaking circuit after leaving Washington. But Trump’s recent moves — before and during her husband’s second term — offer a break with precedent.

Trump has also participated in multiple friendly interviews with Fox News in recent months, underscoring a first lady more amenable to satiating public interest and perhaps enjoying her popularity.

The first lady, who was largely absent from the 2024 campaign trail, is expected to divide her time over the next four years between Washington, Palm Beach and New York, and will be present at the White House for major events. She will have her own platform and priorities, telling Fox News she plans to reboot her “Be Best” initiative. She also remains a constant voice in her husband’s ear.

Like her first term, Trump has indicated she will have a small East Wing staff compared with many of her modern predecessors. Hayley Harrison, an aide during her first East Wing tour, will be her chief of staff.

“I have a few positions that I still need to hire. I will not rush into that. … I don’t want to hire too many people on my team and spend too much taxpayer money,” Trump told Fox News earlier this month.

Trump offered an early visual preview of her second tour in Washington on Monday, holding the Lincoln Bible and a family Bible as her husband took the oath of office, and joining him throughout the day’s ceremonies and celebrations.

Her navy double-breasted coat and matching hat, which limited visibility of her reactions throughout the day, underscored that Trump is “getting down to business,” Bennett said.

Trump expressed a wish that “people would focus on what I do, not what I wear” in a 2018 interview with CNN during a trip to Egypt. But she knows “they’re going to do it anyway,” Bennett said.

“Might as well send a message of, ‘I’m serious this time, not messing around — and let’s get to it.’”

Things may also be different for the first lady this time because her eldest stepdaughter, Ivanka Trump, will no longer have a West Wing office and senior adviser title, clearing up some of the ambiguity among the first family during the first term. Ivanka Trump has expressed her intention to leave politics entirely as she seeks a more private life in Miami, though she still provides her father counsel in a behind-the-scenes capacity.

“With the absence of Ivanka, Melania may feel more empowered to be the female figurehead of this administration,” Bennett said.

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.

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