Jennifer Arangio's departure is the latest staffing change under John Bolton (right), who formally took the reins at the NSC on April 9. | Markus Schreiber/AP Photo Another top NSC official ousted under Bolton

A top National Security Council official who skirmished with White House aide Stephen Miller and other immigration hardliners was forced out this week, the latest staffing change at the NSC since President Donald Trump named John Bolton his national security adviser in March.

Jennifer Arangio, a senior director in the NSC division that deals with international organizations, was let go Thursday, according to a former White House official and a former NSC staffer. The former NSC staffer said Arangio was escorted off the premises and told her services were no longer needed.


Arangio's exit comes days after two senior officials left the NSC's Middle East section. One, Joel Rayburn, is expected to join the State Department in a top position dealing with Middle East issues, another former NSC official said. It's not clear where the other, Michael Bell, will land.

Asked about the departures, an NSC spokesman said only: "We don’t comment on personnel." Neither Arangio nor Rayburn responded to requests for comment. Bell could not be reached.

Arangio is a lawyer and former Capitol Hill staffer who worked for Trump's presidential campaign as national director of women's engagement, according to her LinkedIn profile. She joined the NSC in January 2017, according to LinkedIn.

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She's relatively well-regarded by fellow officials who say she has a strong grasp of the facts underpinning U.S. policies and a respect for the policy process.

"She's also fiercely loyal to the president," the former White House official said. "She is a true believer in this president, and she took her role seriously to ensure he received the most complete and accurate information to make a decision."

The former White House official said Arangio's just-the-facts approach put her at odds with Miller, a top Trump aide who favors restricting immigration, and others involved with the Domestic Policy Council, especially on the issue of refugees.

"She has fought to correct misleading information about refugees and migrants provided to the president by Miller and the DPC," the former White House official said.

Arangio also has had some friction with Mira Ricardel, Bolton's hard-edged deputy, according to the former NSC official and the former White House official.

Arangio's division also has faced the unusual challenge of articulating and implementing the policies of a president who disdains many multilateral institutions the U.S. is either a member of or deals with, including the European Union and the NATO military alliance.

Arangio was among the U.S. officials who tried to convince other United Nations member states to support the nomination of Ken Isaacs to lead the International Organization for Migration. An American has traditionally held that role, but Isaacs became a controversial choice after it was revealed that he had a history of comments and tweets that seemed to disparage Islam.

Isaacs insisted his past comments were misconstrued, and Arangio asserted that Isaacs "embodies what the United States believes." In a historic rebuke to America, Isaacs' nomination was rejected.

Bolton, a conservative with a long track record of hawkish views and suspicion of multinational bodies, formally took the reins at the NSC on April 9. He replaced H.R. McMaster, the Army lieutenant general who Trump ousted after months of increasing tension.

Bolton immediately began reshaping the NSC, including by forcing out Trump's homeland security adviser, Tom Bossert. The NSC's main spokesman, Michael Anton, also left, while its chief of staff and executive secretary, Keith Kellogg, joined Vice President Mike Pence's staff.