After first lady’s urging, aide exits West Wing

WASHINGTON — Deputy national security adviser Mira Ricardel is leaving the West Wing, one day after first lady Melania Trump’s office issued an extraordinary statement calling for her dismissal.

No replacement was named. Aides said Ricardel clashed with the first lady’s staff over her visit to Africa last month. Yet it is highly unusual for a first lady or her office to weigh in on personnel matters, especially the president’s national security staff.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Wednesday that Ricardel will have a new role in the administration. Sanders didn’t say what Ricardel’s new job would be.

On Tuesday, Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s spokesman, released a statement saying: “It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House.”

President Donald Trump’s White House has set records for administration turnover. Ricardel was the third person to hold the post under Trump.

An ally of national security adviser John Bolton, Ricardel began her service in the Trump administration as associate director in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, then moved to the Commerce Department last year. She previously worked in the Defense Department under President George W. Bush.

Bolton brought her into the West Wing shortly after taking the job in April. He is traveling in Asia this week alongside Vice President Mike Pence.

While Bolton likes her, according to Trump administration officials, Ricardel is widely disliked among other White House staff members. She’s regarded as inflexible and obsessed with process, which some officials complain has complicated coordination between the national security team and Cabinet agencies.