GOP staffer 'resigning today' after calling Sasha and Malia Obama 'classless'

• Elizabeth Lauten, a Republican communications director, lashed out at Malia, 16, and Sasha, 13, for 'classless' clothes and sullen attitude
• Lauten 'prayed for hours' then issued an apology
• Hundreds called for her to lose job under #FireElizabethLauten hashtag
• On Monday morning, Lauten revealed she has handed in her notice

By Mia De Graaf for MailOnline and Kieran Corcoran for MailOnline

Published: 09:52 EST, 1 December 2014 | Updated: 10:13 EST, 1 December 2014

The GOP staffer who called Malia and Sasha Obama classless has confirmed she will step down today following a storm of outrage over her comments.

Elizabeth Lauten wrote a diatribe on Thanksgiving, slamming the First Daughters, aged 16 and 13, for wearing casual clothing and looking sullen during the White House turkey pardon.

Today, after thousands of calls for the self-professed media expert to be sacked, Lauten has agreed to resign from her post as communications director for Rep Stephen Fincher of Tennessee.

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Resigned: Elizabeth Lauten has stepped down as communications director for Rep Stephen Fincher after writing this (left) diatribe against Malia and Sasha Obama on Thanksgiving, slamming their attire and attitude

'Classless': Lauten told the girls to 'dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at a bar' in her Facebook post

Lauten told NBC News by phone on Monday morning that her resignation is already 'in the works,' four days after her controversial post on Facebook went viral.

'Dear Sasha and Malia,' she wrote in the post, 'I get you're both in those awful teen years, but you're a part of the First Family, try showing a little class.'

Lauten added: 'Act like being in the White House matters to you.

'Dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at a bar.

'And certainly don't make faces during televised public events.'

Sasha, 13, was dressed in a short maroon dress with a long cream cardigan that matched her thick cream socks, worn over bare legs. Her sister Malia, 16, wore black tights under a mini kilt with a grey and cream jumper.

Lauten apologized for her post hours later, writing that 'judgmental feelings truly have no place in my heart', saying that 'hours of prayer' had shown the error of her ways.

Apology: Hours later she removed the original outburst, issued an apology and set her page to private

The girls' expressions during their father's Thanksgiving address prompted playful comments on social media.

After the President had pardoned the designated bird, a four-month-old 49-pounder called Cheese, he asked Malia if she wanted to pet the turkey.

'Nah', she replied, in a rare departure from her usual, gracious disposition, which prompted a flurry of remarks from viewers.

But Lauten's reaction sparked outrage.

The incident was not Lauten's first social media slip-up.

In August, she posted a tweet from her boss's verified Twitter account about 'shagging'.

Stephen Fincher's followers were baffled when he tweeted: 'God I love this song. And beach music. AND shagging #pandora,' in reference to an Embers playlist on Pandora radio.

Lauten later deleted the post and apologized for the 'accident' - but insisted 'shagging' is a dance term rather than a sexual reference.

'It had nothing to do with Stephen Fincher. I don't think he knows what Pandora is; he certainly doesn't have it,' she said, according to Politico.

Following mass outrage to her post on Thursday, Lauten deleted it, set her profile to private, and issued an apology: 'I reacted to an article and quickly judged the two young ladies in a way that I would never have wanted to be judged myself as a teenager.

Reaction: The girls prompted soft criticism for sullenly scowling at their father, the President, on Thanksgiving

Twitter users rushed to defend the girls who Lauten said 'deserve a spot at a bar' rather than the White House

'After many hours of prayer, talking to my parents and re-reading my words online, I can see more clearly how hurtful my words were.

'Please know that these judgmental feelings truly have no pace in my heart.

'Furthermore, I'd like to apologize to all of those who I have hurt and offended with my words, and pledge to learn and grow (and I assure you I have) from this experience.'

Over the weekend, Lauten's critics defended Malia and Sasha by tweeting the renowned picture of George W Bush's daughter Jenna drunkenly tumbling over her friend on to the floor of a frat party, cigarette in hand, while her father was in office.

The 2001 photo, which earned the then 19-year-old the nickname Jenna And Tonic, went viral with the hash tag '#classy'.

Other responses included a picture of the moment Jenna, one of the former president's twin daughters, stuck out her tongue at White House photographers while riding in the presidential limousine.

Unimpressed: The First Daughters looked bored and unimpressed by their father's jokes about turkey

Clothing: Sasha wore a maroon dress and cardigan while Malia wore a mini kilt with black tights and boots

'Awful teenage years': The cyber-bullying post addressed to the young girls said they are at an 'awful' stage

'Did you forget that jenna bush got photographed at the age of 19 knocking someone over at a FRAT party? good lord,' one Twitter user wrote.

Another commented: 'The Bush twins used fake ID's to get into bars. & Jenna Bush stuck out tongue at press. Is that 'classy?' @DCGopGirl #tcot #UniteBlue.'

One wrote: 'Where were your ignorant comments on the Palin family brawl, the Bush girls (Jenna & Tonic).'

'So Sasha and Malia Obama have no class? Two words: Jenna Bush. #ElizabethLauten,' one tweet read.

And one said: 'I have a feeling that Jenna Bush & sister are a little ticked off at #ElizabethLauten for bringing their past behavior into the spotlight.'