First lady Melania Trump has publicly called for the ouster of deputy national security adviser Mira Ricardel in a remarkable rebuke of a senior official serving in her husband's administration.
The call was made through Ms Trump's communications director, Stephanie Grisham, and comes after Ms Ricardel reportedly quarrelled with the first lady's staff over a recent trip to Africa.
"It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that (Ricardel) no longer deserves the honour of serving in this White House," Ms Grisham said in a statement.
The potential departure would be a blow for White House National Security Adviser John Bolton, for whom Ms Ricardel is considered to be a close ally in the administration.
But it is their shared appetite for bureaucratic infight that may have landed Ms Ricardel in hot water with the first lady. She reportedly had disagrements with Ms Trump's staff over seating on the plane that the first lady flew to Africa in, and over the use of National Security Counsel resources, a source told CNN.
Reuters reports that Ms Trump had complained to President Donald Trump that she as not happy with how she was being treated by Ms Ricardel, a former Boeing Co executive who worked on the president's campaign before being picked by Mr Bolton to be his deputy earlier this year.
When asked about those complaints, Ms Grisham then issued the statement, which has shocked political circles for its frank and direct nature.
Sources have said that Ms Trump asked her husband directly to oust Ms Ricardel after the Africa trip, where the first lady reportedly felt that she was not being given enough government resources for the tour. It was not clear what resources were in dispute.
Requests for comment sent to the White House and National Security Council were not immediately returned.
