White House staffing shifts may spill into national security sphere

SLO-MO SHAKEUP: By all accounts, President Trump is frustrated with some members of his national security team as well as his chief of staff, and is ready to make changes. But staffing shifts are unfolding in slow motion — leaving those in the crosshairs to twist in the wind as the president mulls their fate.

One senior member that seems certain to go is deputy national security adviser Mira Ricardel, who has run afoul of first lady Melania Trump and reportedly clashed with both Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. Yesterday, Melania Trump’s office took the unusual step of publicly calling for the firing of Ricardel, who is top deputy to national security adviser John Bolton. “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 first lady’s spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said in a statement.