Working for the First Lady of the United States of America can be a daunting task as one seemingly feels as though they’re walking on egg shells every time, don’t you think?
Well, a senior White House aide, Mira Ricardel who is President Donald Trump’s Deputy National Security Adviser has now been removed from her post after a fall out with the First Lady.
Mira Ricardel is said to have clashed with the First Lady over seating arrangements on flights during the Africa trip weeks ago. An unnamed administration official said they also disagreed over the allocation of government resources for the trip, specifically from the National Security Council budget.
During her interview with ABC in Kenya, Melania Trump said there were people in the White House who she did not trust. Mrs. Trump reportedly blamed Ms Ricardel for some of the “negative stories” about the First Lady and her staff.
Political observers were stunned when Mrs. Trump responded by issuing a public statement saying Ms Ricardel “no longer deserves the honour of serving in this White House”.
First Ladies have been known to wield influence on personnel decisions in the past, but not to issue press releases about it.
In a statement, White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Ms Ricardel was being moved to another post but did not elaborate on where the new job would be or who would be replacing her in the key national security role.
Ms Ricardel “will continue to support the president as she departs the White House to transition to a new role within the administration”, Ms Sanders said.
Ms Ricardel is a former Commerce Department official who was hand-picked by Mr Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, to serve as his deputy. Mr Bolton fought to keep Ms Ricardel in spite of the row with Melania Trump but failed to do so.
Ms Ricardel’s removal comes amid reports that Mr. Trump is preparing another shake-up of his White House staff, with homeland security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen also rumoured to be in the firing line.
Mr Trump’s two years in the White House have come with unprecedented staff turnover. Ms Ricardel was the third person under Mr Trump to hold the post of deputy national security adviser alone.
It’s not only on The Apprentice reality TV show where people were fired, the firing culture is still alive in the White House. Would you work for the Trump administration for your dream salary?