The US first lady, Melania Trump, has forced the departure of the deputy national security adviser from the White House in the culmination of a personal dispute in which she previously complained that the official “no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House”.

The US president’s wife finally had her way on Wednesday evening when an announcement from the White House said that Mira Ricardel, a deputy of the national security adviser, John Bolton, was departing to “transition to a new role within the administration”. The notice came with the usual expression of gratitude for Ricardel’s “service to the American people”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Melania Trump. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

But her exit marks an unusually direct intervention by the first lady in internal White House affairs, as she has tended to play a more distant role. It also signals the extent of power that she can wield when she chooses to.

Trump became disaffected with Ricardel during a trip to Africa in October. The official was reported to have made disparaging remarks about two of the first lady’s staff travelling with her.

According to the New York Times, Ricardel had accused some of Trump’s most trusted aides of inappropriate behavior which the first lady said were false claims.

Ricardel has a long track record within conservative politics. She was an adviser to the US senator Bob Dole and for Donald Rumsfeld as defense secretary under the younger George Bush.

The White House announcement did not specify what job she would go on to fill in the Trump administration.