Melania Trump orders sack of top US national security official

America’s media were questioning the locus of US First Lady, Melania Trump in meddling with appointments made by her husband, as she confirmed she wanted deputy national security adviser Mira Ricardel sacked.

“It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honour of serving in this White House,” Stephanie Grisham, the First Lady’s communication director said in response to an enquiry by ABC.

CNN reported President Donald Trump has heeded her wife’s advisory and has decided to fire Mira Ricardel, the deputy national security adviser.

While some reports said Ricardel was escorted out of White House today, some other reports said she had been given some time to clear her desk.

CNN interpreted the statement credited to Melania’s spokesperson as a stunning public rebuke by a first lady of a senior official serving in her husband’s administration.

It came after reports surfaced earlier Tuesday indicating Ricardel would be pushed out of her post after less than seven months on the job.

Neither Ricardel nor spokespeople for the National Security Council responded to CNN requests for comment.

Her departure would leave national security adviser John Bolton without one of his key allies in the administration, a deputy who has also shared his penchant for bureaucratic infighting.

It was those sharp elbows that sources said led to the first lady’s stinging statement, with Ricardel most recently feuding with members of the first lady’s staff over her trip to Africa. One person familiar with the matter said Ricardel quarrelled with the first lady’s staff over seating on the plane and use of National Security Council resources.