In an unusual power play, Melania Trump publicly pushed for the firing of a senior White House official on Tuesday amid reports the aide has clashed with the first lady's staff.
The usually reclusive first lady deployed her top spokeswoman to go after Mira Ricardel, the deputy national security adviser to President Donald Trump.
"It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that (Ricardel) no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House," communications director Stephanie Grisham said in a statement, declining to elaborate.
Ricardel, who serves as national security adviser John Bolton's right-hand woman, got into a spat with aides to Melania after they asked to use National Security Council resources for the first lady's trip to Africa last month, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
The first lady's team has reportedly also informed President Trump that they believe Ricardel could be the source of some recent news coverage that puts Melania in a bad light.
A National Security Council spokesman did not return a request for comment.
It was reported that Ricardel was escorted out of the White House on Tuesday afternoon, but a senior administration official disputed that account.
"This did not happen," the official told the New York Daily News. "She is still here at the White House."
Ricardel, 58, is among a number of administration officials rumored to be on their way out as part of a post-midterm election shakeup.
