FOREIGN POLICY/MELANIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “In this White House, no one knows when the ax will fall or who will be swinging it. A new day of firing and fury culminating in a staggering power play by first lady Melania Trump deepened already historic dysfunction in the administration on Tuesday [11-13-18], leaving top officials blindsided and confused. Even compared with the senior staff knifings, bureaucratic turmoil and raging chaos that passes for normality in President Donald Trump’s White House, her sudden move against a top foreign policy official was a bombshell. In a public statement that came out of nowhere, the first lady’s office warned that deputy national security adviser Mira Ricardel, with whom she reportedly clashed over a recent Africa trip, ‘no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House.’ Her dramatic intervention sparked speculation that the first lady was at odds with her husband, was overstepping her role and that the East Wing was going rogue. Melania Trump had already said in an ABC interview last month that she didn’t trust some White House staffers. Now, she is doing something about it.”
–Stephen Collinson, “Melania Trump leads new round of White House firing and fury,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, November 13, 2018 1:04 am