WASHINGTON (AP) - Deputy national security adviser Mira Ricardel is leaving the White House, 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 Ricardel will have a new role in the administration.

On Tuesday, Stephanie Grisham, the first lady's spokeswoman, 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.

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. </s> Deputy national security adviser Mira Ricardel has been fired, barely 24 hours after first lady Melania Trump publicly called for her dismissal.

Melania Trump reportedly made the unprecedented request in response to a squabble with Ricardel over seating on a plane during the first lady’s trip to Africa last month and over the first lady’s staff’s attempt to use National Security Council resources.

Not helping her case, CNN notes the adviser was also suspected of leaking unflattering stories about Trump officials she viewed as opponents and had a reputation for being brusque.

“Mira Ricardel will continue to support the President as she departs the White House to transition to a new role within the Administration,” Sanders said. “The President is grateful for Ms. Ricardel’s continued service to the American people and her steadfast pursuit of his national security priorities.”

Ricardel served as the top aide to national security adviser John Bolton, who had resisted calls for her dismissal, according to Politico. Bolton is in Singapore this week with Vice President Mike Pence for the ASEAN-U.S. Summit and the East Asia Summit.

Ricardel formerly held positions in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. </s> Mira Ricardel barely lasted seven months as deputy national security adviser before First Lady Melania Trump issued an unprecedented call for her dismissal and President Donald Trump moved to fire her.

In those few months on the job, Ricardel generated a long list of enemies and developed a reputation for shouting at subordinates, plotting against White House officials she disliked and leaking stories about her administration opponents to the press. One source familiar with the situation said Ricardel’s firing is due in part to her “bullying” of aides both above and below her.

Current and former colleagues of Ricardel paint a picture of a committed conservative and national security expert with a strong personality. One former colleague described her as someone who doesn’t “suffer fools” or have a nuanced touch when it comes to navigating the shoals of internal politics. A White House official was blunter, describing the California native as ideologically driven and “obstinate”.

The former State Department and Pentagon official made enemies of heavyweights within the Trump administration, feuding with chief of staff John Kelly, his deputy Zach Fuentes, and locked horns with Defense Secretary James Mattis, according to people familiar with the White House intrigue.

But her spat with the first lady’s staff over Mrs. Trump’s trip to Africa — apparently over seating on the plane and the use of National Security Council resources — seems to have earned her the enmity of the person who may wield the most weight with Trump: his wife.

The President told people on Tuesday that he had made the decision to fire Ricardel, but that he was giving her time to clear her desk, making her the latest in a long list of high ranking officials who have left or been bootedfrom the Trump administration.

Ricardel did not return requests for comment.

Ricardel was raised in Pasadena, the child of a Croatian immigrant and went on to study at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and then do doctoral work at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

She went on to hold positions in three Republican administrations, working in the departments of State, Defense and Commerce, as well as acting as an aide to then Republican Senate leader Bob Dole. She has also worked in the private sector, including at Boeing, before becoming a member of Trump’s presidential transition team as a Pentagon adviser.

National security adviser John Bolton, who was in Singapore when news of Ricardel’s dismissal broke, said when he tapped her to be his deputy in April that she “has a track record of successfully managing teams and diverse organizations, as well as addressing complex issues.”

And yet repeatedly during Ricardel’s tenure, news stories trickled out of the troubled White House that suggested she wasn’t managing teams or working within them particularly well.

Most famously, she clashed with Mattis during the transition. Ricardel blocked some of his picks for Pentagon positions because they included former Obama administration officials who she felt were not strict Republican loyalists, multiple defense officials have told CNN.

Mattis then blocked Ricardel from getting a high level job at the Pentagon. In the months since Ricardel’s arrival at the NSC, White House sources have repeatedly leaking stories to the press saying that Ricardel and Bolton were spreading rumors about Mattis’ imminent departure in an effort to pressure the Pentagon chief to leave.

Bolton and Ricardel allegedly believe that Mattis is not “ideologically aligned” with Trump, according to Foreign Policy magazine, which quoted a former official saying that the two were trying “to build the sense that he is done for.”

A former Trump transition official who is close to Ricardel said Ricardel thinks Mattis “never should have been appointed and thinks he’s a Democrat and tells anyone who will listen.”

Ricardel also had a fraught relationship with Kelly and Fuentes, according to people familiar with the matter. Kelly and Fuentes believed Ricardel was leaking negative stories about them to the press, those sources said.

But Ricardel seems to have crossed a line in taking on Melania Trump’s office over the first lady’s trip to Africa in October, making what some viewed as challenging requests and being obstinate, the White House official told CNN.

Since then, the source continued, some officials said she has been dishonest about what went on and leaked stories to try and cover her behavior.

The former Trump transition official said they were not surprised to hear that Ricardel butted heads with the first lady and her staff, saying, “she does not suffer fools.” The former transition official characterized Ricardel as “smart and tough,” but acknowledged that she is not always effective at navigating “internal politics.” </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> Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been promoted to press secretary in the Trump White House's latest shakeup. (Source: CBS News)

New York financier Anthony Scaramucci has been formally named White House communications director and Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been promoted to press secretary in the Trump White House's latest shakeup.

The announcement came during the first White House press briefing since the appointments were announced Friday morning and just hours after the resignation of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

Trump says in a statement read by Sanders that he's "grateful" for departing press secretary Sean Spicer's "work on behalf of my administration and the American people."

Copyright 2017 KSLA. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) - With a handshake and a presidential kiss on the cheek, Hope Hicks bid farewell to the White House, the press-shy communications director taking a rare moment in the spotlight on her final day in Donald Trump's administration.

The Thursday exit of the president's most trusted aide, coming one day after yet another Cabinet departure, highlights continuing uncertainty among Trump aides and White House staff about who might be the next to go.

Hicks departed the administration on her own terms and was given a gracious goodbye by Trump outside the Oval Office in view of reporters. That stands in stark contrast to the White House treatment of David Shulkin, the Veterans Affairs secretary who was fired amid ethics questions and replaced by a White House physician who has no experience running a bureaucracy or working with veterans.

As Trump allies defended the choice of Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, scrutiny quickly shifted to a number of other Cabinet members facing ethics questions and with strained relationships with the president, as well as a White House chief of staff who has found his influence diminished. Trump aides and outside advisers suggested that other changes weren't imminent, but no one could say how long that would last.

"I'll have to get back to you on that," said deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters when asked on Air Force One if Trump now had his ideal Cabinet.

White House officials are apprehensive about Hicks' departure, given her unrivaled position in the president's orbit. Despite her title as communications director title, Hicks was more accurately described by White House officials as Trump's right-hand-woman and media gatekeeper, providing needed doses of affirmation to the president and able to deliver bad news to him with few repercussions.

The internal jockeying to replace her - if Trump even chooses to do so - has featured backstabbing and planted news stories that, in turn, bash the leading candidates: Mercedes Schlapp, the White House strategic communications director, and Tony Sayegh, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Treasury Department.

Many close to the White House, however, expect senior adviser Kellyanne Conway or press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to assume the role, at least temporarily. Sanders has grown close to the president since taking over the press secretary's job after the resignation of Sean Spicer last summer - and has been spending more time in the Oval Office lately.

The job of communications director - which involves developing and executing the administration's long-term messaging strategy - has never been a particularly important one to the president. Aides joke he is his own communications director, who upends carefully laid plans with a tweet or digression.

Trump, never disciplined, has taken to freelancing more of late, as he moves to surround himself with aides less likely to try to rein him in. A speech outside Cleveland on Thursday meant to be about infrastructure instead felt like a campaign rally. And he has broken free of more of the restraints placed upon him by chief of staff John Kelly.

Trump hired John Bolton as national security adviser last week over Kelly's objections and didn't include his chief of staff in the Oval Office meeting in which the job offer was extended. And Kelly, who frequently listens in on the president's calls, was not on the call Trump made from the White House residence earlier this month during which, over staff objections, he congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his re-election.

Though Kelly's job did not appear to be in danger, Trump has mused to outside allies of late about setting a West Wing structure with no chief of staff, reminiscent of his Trump Tower operation.

Aides said controversies around Trump's staff need to hit a certain decibel level to get the president's attention.

In the case of Shulkin, who was found to have inappropriately accepted gifts and travel, his parting came as he was under fire from all corners, including GOP-leaning veterans groups and good-government watchdogs. And Trump himself vented to confidants that the questions surrounding Shulkin undermined his campaign promise to help veterans, according to three White House officials and outside advisers who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.

Officials said ethical questions swirling around other Cabinet members are not attracting the attention of the president in the same manner but caution that could change quickly.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson came under scrutiny after reports his agency was spending $31,000 for a new dining set. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has faced questions about $25,000 spent on a soundproof "privacy booth" inside his office to prevent eavesdropping on his phone calls and another $9,000 on biometric locks.

White House ethics officials, directed by Kelly, have warned Carson, Pruitt and others that further negative attention could change the dynamic and send them packing. But another Cabinet member, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, may have inadvertently stepped into Trump's line of fire this week.

Trump has been livid at Sessions for months for recusing himself from the Russia investigation, belittling him publicly and privately but not yet moving to dismiss him. But Sessions on Thursday appeared on the cover of Time magazine, Trump's favorite publication.

Trump has been known to boast about his appearances on Time covers - fake ones have been installed at his golf courses - and was angry last year when former chief strategist Steve Bannon appeared on one. One Trump ally said the president has previously said, only half-jokingly, that he should appear on the cover every week.

Lemire reported from New York. Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report.

Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire and Miller at http://twitter.com/@zekejmiller </s> President Trump announced Thursday on Twitter that White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders will be leaving her position at the end of the month.

"After 3 1/2 years, our wonderful Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home to the Great State of Arkansas," Trump said. "She is a very special person with extraordinary talents, who has done an incredible job! I hope she decides to run for Governor of Arkansas - she would be fantastic. Sarah, thank you for a job well done!"

The president has not yet named a replacement for the position.

The 36-year old Sanders, the daughter of former Arkansas Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee, worked on her father’s presidential campaign during the 2016 Republican primary until he dropped out of the race. She then joined the Trump campaign and, subsequently, the Trump administration as a White House communications aide. She was promoted to White House press secretary in 2017, after the president’s first top spokesman, Sean Spicer, resigned from the position.

If she chooses to follow in her father's footsteps the seat for governor opens up in 2022.

Throughout her tenure at the White House, Sanders has come under fierce criticism from members of the press for being dishonest on the president's behalf during press briefings that were often contentious and emotional. Eventually, the press secretary stopped giving daily briefings altogether.

Sanders did not immediately respond to request for comment.

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This is a developing story. Check back for updates. </s> In an extraordinary move, Melania Trump is publicly calling for the dismissal of a top White House National Security Council official.

WASHINGTON — In an extraordinary move, Melania Trump is publicly calling for the dismissal of a top White House National Security Council official.

After reports circulated Tuesday that the president had decided to remove Mira Ricardel from the NSC, the first lady’s spokeswoman issued 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.”

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

Ricardel attended a White House ceremony Tuesday with President Donald Trump celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — In an extraordinary move, Melania Trump is publicly calling for the dismissal of a top White House National Security Council official.

After reports circulated Tuesday that the president had decided to remove Mira Ricardel from the NSC, the first lady's spokeswoman issued 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."

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

Ricardel attended a White House ceremony Tuesday with President Donald Trump celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Deputy National Security Advisor Mira Ricardel is "to transition to a new role within the administration", a day after First Lady Melania Trump called for Ricardel's ousting.