National security adviser John Bolton’s top deputy, Mira Ricardel, has been fired after first lady Melania Trump called for her ouster, The Wall Street Journal reports. The newspaper reported earlier Tuesday that the first lady urged President Trump to get rid of Ricardel after the two women clashed over “seating on the plane and requests to use National Security Council resources” during the first lady’s Africa trip. Melania Trump’s team also told Trump they “suspect” Ricardel to be behind some of the “negative stories” that have come out about the first lady and her staff, the newspaper reported. On Tuesday afternoon, the first lady took the extraordinary step of publicly calling for Ricardel’s ouster. “It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that [Ricardel] no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House,” Trump’s communications director Stephanie Grisham said in a statement. The Journal later reported Ricardel was fired from her post and escorted from the White House.
<https://www.thedailybeast.com/national-security-deputy-mira-ricardel-fired-escorted-from-white-house-report