T OI Correspondent from Washington: Sergio Gor , whose original last name was Gorokhovsky before he shortened it in America, has no known previous ties or connections or work or scholarship relating to India. Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, when it was part of the former USSR, he emigrated to the US with his parents in 1999 when he was around 12. His father, Yuri Gorokhovsky is reported to be an aviation engineer who worked on aircraft designs for the Soviet military, notably the IL-76, a midair refueling supertanker that is part of the IAF fleet; His mother is said to be of Israeli origin.
The Gors moved to the Los Angeles area, where he attended school before moving to the nation's capital to attend George Washington University, a few blocks from the White House. Active in young conservative, Republican circles, he served as a spokesman for lawmakers Steve King and Michele Bachman, both know for controversial far-right views, before joining Senator Rand Paul as a staffer and rising to Deputy Chief of Staff.
He came into the Trump orbit during the 2020 elections and rose rapidly in MAGA movement, eventually living close to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate before moving to Washington DC when Trump named him Director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, following his November 2024 victory.
The powerful job made him a Trump sentinel in the White House when it came to personnel appointments, and his influence rankled other MAGA principals who thought they had the President's ear on job recommendations. Among them was Elon Musk, who called Gor a "snake" after his recco of Jared Isaacman to head NASA was spiked, reportedly because Gor provided Trump with receipts showing Isaacman's history of donations to the Democratic Party.
Still, the choice of Gor as ambassador to New Delhi was welcomed by Trump principals, some of whom are said to be concerned about deteriorating ties with India. "He will be an excellent representative of America in one of the most important relationships our nation has in the world," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick inelegantly said, "India is in great hands."
Response from New Delhi has been muted. While there is relief about having an interlocutor to the White House with access to the President, there's also concern over the appointment of a novice with very little domain knowledge of the region -- to a post once occupied by giants like Chester Bowles, JK Galbraith, and Daniel Moynihan, respectively a state governor, a distinguished economist, and a legendary Senator.
But other proponents of revitalizing US-India ties say it is more important at this time to have an envoy in New Delhi who has a direct line to the President than worry about his qualifications." India will have access to some one who is literally one phone call away from Trump...What we could not communicate last few months we can communicate in hours once Sergio is in place," Asha Jadeja Motwani, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist and a seld described "America-India Optimist" said on X.
Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, is among those chuffed with Gor's nominaton. "I believe Sergio is the only person outside of [chief of staff] Susie [Wiles] and a handful of others who actually has walk-in privileges to the president at any time, day or night," Bannon told Politico. "If I’m [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi in India — and I say this as somebody that’s so pro that relationship — I couldn’t think of a better pick."
"Does he have a deep knowledge base of the Indian policy issues? He doesn’t, but this guy’s a quick study. He not just has access to the president ... but he has a unique trust," Bannon added.
Others are less sanguine, seeing Gor's broader mandate as a special envoy for South and Central Asia affairs potentially hyphenating India with Pakistan and fretting about inexperience that in endemic among Trump appointments, where political and personal loyalty counts more than domain knowledge and expertise. According to diplomatic chroniclers, of the 61 ambassadors Trump has nominated in his second term, 58 (95 per cent) are political appointees and only 3 (5 percent) are career diplomats from the US foreign service, a stark departure from historical norms where political appointments typically accounted for about 30% of ambassadorial posts.
Among Trump's more sketchy nominees are Charles Kushner, his son-in-law Jared Kushner's father, as ambassador to France, Kimberly Guilfoyle, his son Donald Trump Jr's ex-fiancee as ambassador to Greece, and Tilman Fertitta, a billionaire and Houston Rockets owner, as ambassador to Italy.
The Gors moved to the Los Angeles area, where he attended school before moving to the nation's capital to attend George Washington University, a few blocks from the White House. Active in young conservative, Republican circles, he served as a spokesman for lawmakers Steve King and Michele Bachman, both know for controversial far-right views, before joining Senator Rand Paul as a staffer and rising to Deputy Chief of Staff.
He came into the Trump orbit during the 2020 elections and rose rapidly in MAGA movement, eventually living close to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate before moving to Washington DC when Trump named him Director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, following his November 2024 victory.
The powerful job made him a Trump sentinel in the White House when it came to personnel appointments, and his influence rankled other MAGA principals who thought they had the President's ear on job recommendations. Among them was Elon Musk, who called Gor a "snake" after his recco of Jared Isaacman to head NASA was spiked, reportedly because Gor provided Trump with receipts showing Isaacman's history of donations to the Democratic Party.
Still, the choice of Gor as ambassador to New Delhi was welcomed by Trump principals, some of whom are said to be concerned about deteriorating ties with India. "He will be an excellent representative of America in one of the most important relationships our nation has in the world," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick inelegantly said, "India is in great hands."
Response from New Delhi has been muted. While there is relief about having an interlocutor to the White House with access to the President, there's also concern over the appointment of a novice with very little domain knowledge of the region -- to a post once occupied by giants like Chester Bowles, JK Galbraith, and Daniel Moynihan, respectively a state governor, a distinguished economist, and a legendary Senator.
But other proponents of revitalizing US-India ties say it is more important at this time to have an envoy in New Delhi who has a direct line to the President than worry about his qualifications." India will have access to some one who is literally one phone call away from Trump...What we could not communicate last few months we can communicate in hours once Sergio is in place," Asha Jadeja Motwani, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist and a seld described "America-India Optimist" said on X.
Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, is among those chuffed with Gor's nominaton. "I believe Sergio is the only person outside of [chief of staff] Susie [Wiles] and a handful of others who actually has walk-in privileges to the president at any time, day or night," Bannon told Politico. "If I’m [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi in India — and I say this as somebody that’s so pro that relationship — I couldn’t think of a better pick."
"Does he have a deep knowledge base of the Indian policy issues? He doesn’t, but this guy’s a quick study. He not just has access to the president ... but he has a unique trust," Bannon added.
Others are less sanguine, seeing Gor's broader mandate as a special envoy for South and Central Asia affairs potentially hyphenating India with Pakistan and fretting about inexperience that in endemic among Trump appointments, where political and personal loyalty counts more than domain knowledge and expertise. According to diplomatic chroniclers, of the 61 ambassadors Trump has nominated in his second term, 58 (95 per cent) are political appointees and only 3 (5 percent) are career diplomats from the US foreign service, a stark departure from historical norms where political appointments typically accounted for about 30% of ambassadorial posts.
Among Trump's more sketchy nominees are Charles Kushner, his son-in-law Jared Kushner's father, as ambassador to France, Kimberly Guilfoyle, his son Donald Trump Jr's ex-fiancee as ambassador to Greece, and Tilman Fertitta, a billionaire and Houston Rockets owner, as ambassador to Italy.
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