Trump nominates MAGA loyalist envoy to India

A photograph posted by Sergio Gor on his Twitter account on February 11, 2021 with the tweet:
“Exactly a year ago today, we all joined President Trump on a quick trip to NH. Air Force one was filled with liberty lovers ⁦@RandPaul ⁦@mattgaetz ⁦@DanScavino ⁦@TommyHicksGOP #tbt 🇺🇸”

Present in the photograph from Left to Right: Longtime Trump loyalist and current White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Former Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Fl), President Donald Trump, former RNC chair Tommy Hicks, current White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, unidentified lady and Sergio Gor.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, his nomination of long-time aide Sergio Gor for the position of ambassador to India.

Notably, Gor has also been nominated for the position of Special Envoy for South and Central Asia Affairs.

In his announcement on Truth Social, Trump posted:

I am pleased to announce that I am promoting Sergio Gor to be our next United States Ambassador to the Republic of India, and Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs. As Director of Presidential Personnel, Sergio and his team have hired nearly 4,000 America First Patriots across every Department of our Federal Government in RECORD time — Our Departments and Agencies are over 95% filled! Sergio will remain in his current role at the White House until his confirmation. 

Sergio is a great friend, who has been at my side for many years. He worked on my Historic Presidential Campaigns, published my Best Selling Books, and ran one of the biggest Super PACs, which supported our Movement. Sergio’s role as Director of Presidential Personnel has been essential to delivering on the unprecedented Mandate that we received from the American People. For the most populous Region in the World, it is important that I have someone I can fully trust to deliver on my Agenda and help us, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. Sergio will make an incredible Ambassador. Congratulations Sergio!

According to the Washington D.C. political news website, The Hill, ‘Gor is a former aide to Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky)’, ‘with strong ties to the MAGA movement.’

According to The Hill, ‘He co-founded a publishing company with Donald Trump Jr. that has published books by the president and conservative figures such as Charlie Kirk and senior President Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro. Gor also led the pro-Trump super PAC Right for America.’

Gor was in the news for two reasons, lately. The Hill reported his clashed with billionaire Elon Musk when he led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The second reason he was in the news was over reports he had not been vetted for his position as the head of the Office of Presidential Personnel, while vetting some 4,000 potential employees.

Gor has been described in media reports as ‘maybe the most powerful man you’ve never heard of.’

The New York Post reported in June that the 38 year-old ‘Sergio Gor — the director of presidential personnel who recently convinced President Trump to yank an Elon Musk-endorsed nominee for NASA — has yet to submit official paperwork about his own background needed for a permanent security clearance, according to multiple sources.’

The New York Post reported that ‘Among the questions applicants must answer under threat of criminal penalties is where they were born and whether they have any foreign connections,’ adding, ‘Gor claims to be from the island country of Malta, though an official there could not confirm his birthplace when provided his exact birthday, saying: “No acts are registered with the provided details.”

In July, The Times of Malta and OCCRP ’obtained a notarized Maltese property record that shows Gor’s origins.’ ‘He was born Sergio Gorokhovsky on November 30, 1986, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which was part of the Soviet Union at the time,’ they reported.

Reporting by The Daily Beast last year said Gor was ‘known to insiders as the ‘Mayor of Mar-a-Lago’, describing his as a ‘Trumpworld social climber.’

While his nomination for the position of ambassador to India will require approval by the U.S. Senate, no approval is required for his appointment as United States Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs.

As announced by Trump, Gor will remain Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office ‘until his confirmation.’

The nomination of Gor as both ambassador to India and Special Envoy is unusual in a number of ways. First, there has not been a U.S. Special Envoy for South and Central Asian affairs in the past and Gor is the first incumbent. It is also unusual for a nominated ambassador to a country to additionally be appointed a special envoy for a region.

But since Gor cannot immediately take up residence at Roosevelt House in New Delhi without confirmation by the U.S. Senate, his appointment as Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs would allow him to take up the role of dealing with India, immediately.

While there were new rules set up in 2023, ostensibly requiring senate confirmation for special envoys, the details for such requirement are ambiguous and remain unsettled.

This nomination and appointment comes at a time when India’s relations have nosedived because of President Trump’s and Trump’s insistence on taking credit for the India-Pakistan ceasefire in May and his imposition of 25 percent tariffs on goods from India, to go up to 50 percent on August 27th.

Over the last two weeks, Trump administration officials have repeatedly charged India with funding Russia’s war on Ukraine with purchases of Russian crude and referred to the additional planned 25 percent tariffs as ‘sanctions,’ which have resurrected memories of the technology-denial regime due to the U.S.-led sanctions imposed on India for the nuclear tests it conducted in 1998.

In response, India has moved towards closer ties with Russia and taken initiatives to revive disrupted relations with China, broken due to Chinese PLA incursions into India’s northern frontier region in 2020, which resulted in casualties on both sides.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the Heads of State Council Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tianjin, China at the end of this month.