President Donald Trump is moving to replace his deputy national security adviser after she feuded with first lady Melania Trump, two sources familiar with the matter said, with a spokeswoman for the first lady leaving no doubt about where she stood on the matter.

The first lady complained to the president that she was unhappy with how she was being treated by Mira Ricardel, a former Boeing Coexecutive who worked on the Trump presidential campaign and was picked by National Security Adviser John Bolton to be his deputy earlier this year, two sources told Reuters.

"It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honour of serving in this White House," Grisham said.

Sources said that Melania Trump explicitly asked the president to oust Ricardel after their dealings over the Africa trip "didn't go well." The other source said that Melania Trump felt that Ricardel tried to short-change the first lady in terms of U.S. government resources allocated to support her Africa tour.

The sources did not elaborate on the clash over resources.

The White House and the National Security Council (NSC) did not respond to requests for comment.

Ricardel could not be reached for comment. She had a prominent place standing to Trump's right on Tuesday at a White House ceremony in the Roosevelt Room marking Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

A source familiar with Ricardel's White House performance said Ricardel also ran afoul of much of the NSC staff and "sort of alienated everyone" except for Bolton, the veteran conservative foreign policy expert who has been her immediate superior.

Bolton is currently travelling in Asia with Vice President Mike Pence.

One of the sources familiar with the White House intrigue said the tensions began building to a crisis point about a month ago and serious, but apparently unsuccessful, efforts were made to defuse the dispute.

Ricardel was also believed to have had a dislike of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, current and former officials have told Reuters.</s>WASHINGTON – In an extraordinary step for a first lady, Melania Trump called for the dismissal of deputy national security adviser Mira Ricardel.

"It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she (Ricardel) no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House," said a statement from Stephanie Grisham, the first lady's communications director.

The statement came minutes after a Diwali event hosted by President Donald Trump that Ricardel attended.</s>Amid reports of a clash between first lady Melania Trump and Deputy National Security Adviser Mira Ricardel, the former has made a public call for the latter’s ouster.

According to Bloomberg, the first lady’s spokeswoman made it clear where Trump stands on the woman serving just below National Security Adviser John Bolton.

“It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House,” Stephanie Grisham said.

The statement came in response to reports that Trump had petitioned for Ricardel to be removed from the position.

Reuters cited several sources familiar with the situation who said the relationship between Trump and Ricardel suffered irreparable damage during the first lady’s trip to Africa earlier this year.

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According to one source, communications leading up to that tour “didn’t go well.”

Another individual described funding for the October trip as a central sticking point. Specifically, Trump reportedly felt that Ricardel’s office did not offer sufficient National Security Council resources for the mission.

One source cited by Bloomberg suggested that Ricardel attempted to leverage government resources in an effort to join the group of people traveling with the first lady.

Another Reuters source said Ricardel had “sort of alienated” almost everyone in the administration. Her lone ally, the source indicated, is Bolton, her boss.

There is no indication President Donald Trump is prepared to act on his wife’s recommendation, but multiple reports this week point to additional staffing shakeups following Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ forced resignation Wednesday.

As CNN reported, Trump hinted at administration departures during a news conference following the midterm elections.

The president said there was “no great secret” in crafting the right Cabinet and team of support staff, promising transparency with reporters through the process.

“As we make changes, we’ll sit down and talk to you about it,” he said.

Trump noted that “a lot of administrations make changes after midterms” and advised that he is “very, very happy” with his Cabinet.

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“We’re doing a great job,” he said, although he acknowledged future departures are likely.

“People leave,” the president said. “They come in, they’re here. It’s a very exhausting job. I love doing it, I must tell you. But it’s exhausting for a lot of people.”

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.</s>Melania Trump made headlines Tuesday when she publicly called for a staffer at the National Security Council to be fired. The First Lady has asked that Mira Ricardel to be let go from her government job. Ricardel is the top deputy for John Bolton, the National Security Adviser, according to Vox.

Reports say that Melania Trump clashed with Ricardel during the First Lady’s well-publicized trip to Africa.

Ricardel previous served in the George W. Bush Administration as deputy assistant secretary of defense. She was also part of Trump’s White House transition team.

CNN is reporting that Donald Trump has decided to respond to Melania’s request; he will be firing Ricardel. Reportedly, she is being given time to clean out her desk.

This is a best-case scenario for Melania, who does not have any official authority inside the White House.

Being the First Lady is not an actual job, though some believe this person does have a role to play. The First Lady does not have official responsibilities, and throughout history these women have all navigated the role in their own way.

While the President of the United States earns a salary, the First Lady does not, according to Metro. This is not a paid position, though the First Lady is given her own office space and staff within the White House.

It’s also not an option to simply refuse to be First Lady. If your husband is elected President, you’re the First Lady and that’s it. Michelle Obama gave up a 6-figure salary to join husband Barack in the White House, and Hillary Clinton resigned as a partner in a law firm when Bill became POTUS.

The unwritten rule for First Ladies is that they are the hostesses of the White House.

But since the First Lady is not an actual job, the First Lady does not have the power to fire staffers. The best Melania can hope for is that Donald Trump will fire people based on her recommendation — and that seems to be happening right now.

In a statement released Tuesday by the First Lady’s communications director, Melania said that Ricardel “no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House,” according to CNN. It’s a pretty strong move.

Some media reports are saying that Ricardel has already been escorted off the White House grounds, though a senior official has denied these reports.

Insiders say that Melania and Ricardel argued over seating on the plane during the First Lady’s trip to Africa. There was also a disagreement about how to use National Security Council resources.</s>On Tuesday afternoon, ABC’s John Santucci reported that office of first lady Melania Trump believed that Mira Ricardel, the deputy national security advisor, should lose her job. In a statement, Stephanie Grisham, Melanie Trump’s communication director, wrote, “It is the position of the Office of the first lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House.”

It’s highly unusual, perhaps without precedent, for a first lady to try and exert this sort of sway over a national security official.

Jennifer Jacobs of Bloomberg reports that Melania Trump and Ricardel quarrelled over seating arrangements in a trip the First Lady made to Africa.

Later Tuesday afternoon, Wall Street Journal White House reporter Michael C. Bender tweeted that Ricardel did indeed appear to be out of a job:

More than most administrations, the Trump White House has been characterized by court intrigue.



As The New York Times recently reported, conflicts between Trump’s wife and his daughter sometimes take up the time of White House chief of staff, John Kelly, who is tasked with mediating between the two women.

The newspaper described one such conflict, also related to Melania Trump’s Africa trip:

The first lady’s office had asked West Wing officials to give her some space while she was in Africa so she could showcase the work she was doing, according to two people briefed on the discussion. There were widely distributed photographs of Mrs. Trump at several of the stops, including Accra, Ghana, where she was pictured cradling a small child. But two days later, Ivanka Trump posted on her Instagram feed a video filmed by the White House team that had a final image of her with a black child during a tour of storm-struck North Carolina. Someone in the West Wing noticed it, and flagged it for the White House chief of staff, John F. Kelly, who has privately described the Trump children as “playing government” and who was supposed to help manage the relationship between the two women’s offices, according to two people familiar with the conversation. Mr. Kelly discussed the video with Ms. Trump’s staff, according to two people familiar with the talks. A White House official disputed that Mr. Kelly had such a discussion.</s>President Donald Trump has reportedly said that Mira Ricardel will be fired from her role in the White House. The reports of the shake-up has come after a statement was released by Melania Trump’s spokesperson, Stephanie Grisham. According to CNN, Ms Grisham today said that the 43-year-old believes Mira Ricardel “no longer deserves the honour” of serving in the current White House. Reportedly, in response to a question about the First Lady seeking the government official's removal, she said: “It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House.”

Earlier today, reports surfaced that Ms Ricardel, who is a top aide to John Bolton, could be replaced, just seven months after taking on her role. It came amid allegations that the aide and the First Lady may have feuded. Melania allegedly complained to the President, 72, saying she was unhappy with how she was treated by Ms Ricardel, according to two sources speaking to Reuters. Sources reportedly said Melania explicitly called for the ousting of the aide, after the pair’s dealings regarding her recent trip to Africa “didn’t go well”. Another source said Melania felt that Ms Ricardel had attempted to short-change her with the allocation of US government resources to support her tour. Meanwhile, CNN have reported that a White House official told them that Donald Trump confirmed she would be fired, but she has been given some time to “clear out her desk”.

Express.co.uk has contacted a representative for Mira Ricardel, Melania Trump and Donald Trump. Despite the reports, Ms Ricardel was seen standing to the right of the President during a White House ceremony today, to mark Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. Melania travelled to Africa last month for her first major solo tour as the First Lady of the United States of America. Her visit was in order to promote her Be Best campaign - which focuses on well-being for youth, and advocating against cyberbullying and drug use. This evening, Melania took to Twitter, to update fans on how she had spent her day.

The First Lady posted a series of photos of herself at the White House, in view of her 11.2 million followers. In the snaps, she could be seen smiling as she greeted visitors. Beside the capture, she wrote: “On this World Kindness Day I had fun surprising visitors to the White House! “Thank you to all who come through and visit this magnificent home. #BeBest.” On Sunday, Melania was pictured attending a Remembrance Day service in Paris with her spouse. Melania Trump: Five facts about the USA’s First Lady Mum-of-one Melania can speak more languages than any other First Lady before her: English, French, German, Italian, Serbian and of course her mother tongue, Slovenian. This also makes her the only First Lady whose first language is not English. After Jacqueline Kennedy, Melania is the second First Lady who is a practising Catholic. She met Pope Francis as part of a foreign tour with her husband and stepdaughter Ivanka last year. Melania was a successful model, posing for Sports Illustrated, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and GQ. Her skills aren’t confined to print, and she appeared in a commercial for Aflac, an American insurance company, in 2005. Melania’s parents are Amalija Knavs and Viktor Knavs, and the couple live together in Washington. She has one sister, Ines, who is reported to live in New York and work as an artist. On May 7 2018, Melania launched her flagship campaign as First Lady, BE BEST, which The White House describes as “an awareness campaign focused entirely around the well-being of children”. There are three main strands to the initiative: well-being, social media, and opioid abuse.</s>WASHINGTON – In an extraordinary step for a first lady, Melania Trump called Tuesday for the dismissal of deputy national security adviser Mira Ricardel, someone who a White House official said she'd never met.

"It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she (Ricardel) no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House," said a statement from Stephanie Grisham, the first lady's communications director.

The statement from Grisham came minutes after a Diwali event hosted by President Donald Trump that Ricardel attended.

Two administration officials said Ricardel, whom National Security Adviser John Bolton appointed this year, has clashed with many staff members, not just the first lady.

Ricardel argued with Melania Trump's staff over airplane seating for the first lady's recent trip to Africa, officials said. They accused Ricardel, who wound up not going to Africa, of spreading false stories about the incident.

But, Tuesday evening a senior White House official told USA TODAY "Ricardel has never met the first lady." The official added Ricardel serves as one of the highest-ranking women in the administration.

As of Tuesday afternoon, officials said that Ricardel has not been fired and still works at the White House.

First ladies often lobby their husbands to take certain actions – perhaps most famously when Nancy Reagan urged President Ronald Reagan to dismiss chief of staff Donald Regan in 1987 – but they normally do it behind the scenes.

It's unusual for a first lady to issue a public statement about an administration staff member.

Garrett Marquis, a spokesman for the National Security Council, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Bolton appointed Ricardel to be his deputy in March. She had been serving as an arms control undersecretary in the Commerce Department; she has previously worked in many other government positions at the State Department and in Congress.

NBC News also reported that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly may be on the way out, in part because he has "gotten on the wrong side of Melania Trump" – a claim the first lady's office has denied.

"Mrs. Trump has a very positive relationship with Chief Kelly and there have never been any issues between the two," Grisham said.

President Donald Trump and Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Navtej Singh Sarna shake hands during a Diwali ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House Nov. 13, 2018 in Washington, D.C. Mira Ricardel stands second row, second from right.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is moving to replace his deputy national security adviser after she feuded with first lady Melania Trump, two sources familiar with the matter said, with a spokeswoman for the first lady leaving no doubt about where she stood on the matter.

The first lady complained to the president that she was unhappy with how she was being treated by Mira Ricardel, a former Boeing Co (BA.N) executive who worked on the Trump presidential campaign and was picked by National Security Adviser John Bolton to be his deputy earlier this year, two sources told Reuters.

“It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House,” Grisham said.

Sources said that Melania Trump explicitly asked the president to oust Ricardel after their dealings over the Africa trip “didn’t go well.” The other source said that Melania Trump felt that Ricardel tried to short-change the first lady in terms of U.S. government resources allocated to support her Africa tour.

The sources did not elaborate on the clash over resources.

The White House and the National Security Council (NSC) did not respond to requests for comment.

Ricardel could not be reached for comment. She had a prominent place standing to Trump’s right on Tuesday at a White House ceremony in the Roosevelt Room marking Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

A source familiar with Ricardel’s White House performance said Ricardel also ran afoul of much of the NSC staff and “sort of alienated everyone” except for Bolton, the veteran conservative foreign policy expert who has been her immediate superior.

Bolton is currently traveling in Asia with Vice President Mike Pence.

One of the sources familiar with the White House intrigue said the tensions began building to a crisis point about a month ago and serious, but apparently unsuccessful, efforts were made to defuse the dispute.

Ricardel was also believed to have had a dislike of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, current and former officials have told Reuters.</s>WASHINGTON – In an extraordinary move, Melania Trump called publicly Tuesday for the deputy national security adviser to be dismissed.

After reports circulated Tuesday that President Trump had decided to remove Mira Ricardel from her post at the National Security Council, Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s spokeswoman, released a statement that said: “It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House.”

Shortly before the statement was issued, Ricardel was among a group of administration officials and other individuals who stood behind President Trump at a White House ceremony celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the first lady’s staff and Ricardel had clashed during Mrs. Trump’s visit to Africa in October over such things as seating on the airplane and requests to use the council’s resources.

A White House official told the Associated Press that Ricardel wanted to travel to Africa with the first lady but was denied seating on the airplane because there was no room for her and several others who initially expected to make the trip. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss White House personnel matters, said Ricardel then threatened not to send any NSC staff.

Ricardel also is known to have clashed with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis over Pentagon political appointee choices since early in his tenure. And Pentagon officials have said privately they believe Ricardel had a hand in spreading rumors this year about Mattis falling from favor with the White House and perhaps departing.

Asked by a reporter today about Mrs. Trump’s office saying Ricardel no longer deserves to work in the White House, Mattis said, “I don’t comment on other people’s staffing issues.”

A spokesman for the National Security Council had no immediate comment.

Mrs. Trump is very protective of her husband and is considered to be an influential adviser, as many first ladies have been with their spouses.

She is also one of the most private first ladies in recent memory, which made the public announcement about her displeasure with a top West Wing official all the more surprising.

In an interview with ABC News during the five-day trip to Ghana, Mali, Kenya and Egypt last month, the first lady said there are people in the White House whom she and the president cannot trust. She declined to name anyone but said she had let the president know who they are.

“Well,” she said, “some people, they don’t work there anymore.”

Asked if some untrustworthy people still worked in the White House, Mrs. Trump replied, “Yes.”

Anita McBride, who was chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush, said there’s a lesson in the current first lady’s public pronouncement.

“The president supports Mrs. Trump’s activities and her work, which should be the signal to the rest of the staff to support her, too,” McBride, who has worked for three Republican presidents, said via email.</s>
• In an interview that aired Sunday, former first lady Michelle Obama was asked whether her successor, Melania Trump, had ever reached out to her for advice.
• “No, no she hasn’t,” Obama responded, raising her eyebrows.
• Trump’s spokeswoman said in a statement on Tuesday that if the first lady ever needed advice, she would get it from “her professional team within the White House.”

First lady Melania Trump has never reached out to her predecessor, Michelle Obama, for advice.

On Sunday, Obama appeared on ABC News’ “20/20” to promote her new memoir, “Becoming.” Her interviewer, Robin Roberts, mentioned that former first lady Laura Bush had offered to give Obama advice anytime she needed it.

Obama said she made the same offer to Trump after the 2016 election.

When Roberts asked whether the first lady had ever reached out to her, Obama said, “No, no she hasn’t,” and raised her eyebrows.

Read more: Michelle Obama said she ‘stopped even trying to smile’ at Trump’s inauguration

On Tuesday, Trump’s spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said in a statement that, in short, Trump doesn’t need Obama’s advice.

“Mrs. Trump is a strong and independent woman who has been navigating her role as First Lady in her own way,” Grisham said. “When she needs advice on any issue, she seeks it from her professional team within the White House.”
First Lady of the United States Melania Trump calls for the ousting of Deputy National Security Advisor Mira Ricardel.