Ricardel's public service began in 1984, when she was selected for the distinguished Presidential Management Intern Program (now Presidential Management Fellow Program) where she rotated into positions at the Defense Logistics Agency, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, and the Office of Senator Pete Wilson (R-CA). Politically, Ricardel has characterized herself as a "
Reagan Republican".
Aide to Dole From 1989 to 1996, Ricardel worked as a legislative assistant to
Senate Republican leader Bob Dole, drafting legislation and specializing in foreign affairs and defense policy. and her work with Dole earned her a portrayal in the nationally circulated
Weekly Standard in 1995. Ricardel's Croatian heritage brought forth accusations that she was influencing Dole to take an anti-Serbian policy stance. Ricardel served as an advisor on defense and foreign policy on Dole's
1996 presidential campaign, when he won the Republican nomination but lost the general election to
Bill Clinton.
Freedom House Ricardel served as a vice president for programming with the nonprofit organization
Freedom House from 1997 to 1998 and as an independent consultant from 1998 to 2000. From 2006 to 2015, Ricardel was employed by the
Boeing Company as Vice President, Strategic Missile & Defense Systems, as well as Vice President of International Business Development, Network and Space Systems. In 2015, Ricardel joined
Federal Budget IQ as a consultant. Despite the orientation of its work, that of an involved governmental research firm, she was not considered a registered lobbyist.
Donald Trump administration Transition Ricardel was part of
Donald Trump's
2016 presidential transition team as a Department of Defense advisor leading the DOD Transition Team. Ricardel was looked at for positions in the new administration in the Defense and State Departments, but was twice blocked based upon past bureaucratic run-ins, in the first instance by Secretary of Defense
James Mattis and in the second by Department of State Chief of Staff
Margaret Peterlin.
Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security On March 30, 2017, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Ricardel for Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security in the
U.S. Department of Commerce. The committee approved her nomination and she was
confirmed by the entire U.S. Senate on August 3, 2017, by voice vote.
Deputy National Security Advisor On April 23, 2018, Ricardel was named as the next Deputy National Security Advisor by the new
National Security Advisor,
John R. Bolton. She replaced Major General Rick Waddell and took office in May without requiring Senate confirmation. Commerce Secretary
Wilbur Ross also congratulated Mira Ricardel on her new position. This move was defended by White House officials referring to
Alexander Hamilton in
Federalist No. 70 but criticized by many in the cybersecurity community. In July 2018, reported difficulties between Ricardel and NSC staffer Jennifer Arangio led to Arangio's dismissal. Despite past conflicts, the White House said Ricardel was working effectively with the Defense Department. However, subsequent reports in September 2018 indicated that conflicts between Ricardel and Defense Secretary Mattis were still present, while other reports said that the conflict between the two had been overblown. Ricardel continued to be portrayed in the media as a tough bureaucratic opponent. following a dispute over personnel presence on the plane for the First Lady's visit to Africa.
Bloomberg News reported that Ricardel "had caused friction" and was "widely disliked among other White House staff."
Subsequent developments By mid-November, Ricardel had reportedly been offered nearly a dozen other positions within the Trump administration, including the post of
United States Ambassador to Estonia, which she refused. that did not happen. Since November 2019, Ricardel has served as Principal of The Chertoff Group, a security consulting firm founded by former Secretary of Homeland Security
Michael Chertoff and Chad Sweet. == Memberships, awards, and honors ==