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White House aide fired after Melania Trump row
The statement released by Melania Trump’s office on Tuesday seemed to come out of the blue and put the focus squarely on Ricardel, who was not one of the more well-known members of the White House team
A senior national security aide to US President Donald Trump was forced to depart the White House on Wednesday, a day after the First Lady Melania Trump sought her exit. On Tuesday the office of the First Lady had gone public saying, deputy national security advisor Mira Ricardel “no longer deserves the honour of serving in this White House.” Presidential spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement, “Mira Ricardel will continue to support the President as she departs the White House to transition to a new role within the Administration”.
“The President is grateful for Ricardel’s continued service to the American people and her steadfast pursuit of his national security priorities,” Sanders added.
Ricardel is believed to have entered into confrontation with the first lady’s staff during her trip to Africa last month.
She was said to be close with John Bolton, the National Security Advisor. Ricardel had earlier served in previous Republican Administration. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, she had joined the White House in May this year. This is Trump’s first firing after the mid-term elections which saw Democrats seize control of the House of Representatives, ending the Republicans’ dominance of both chambers of Congress.
The President is working on some major changes in his administration in the coming weeks.
