The Importance of Being Sergio Gor

Trump's trusted aide and new US ambassador to India poses both a challenge and an opportunity for India-US ties. Aditi Phadnis explains

- Aditi Phadnis explains

He has no experience of trade or economic management. His publishing business was aimed at a largely captive audience. He has no particular interest in geopolitics, no specialized understanding of South Asia or India. What Sergey Gorokhovsky, or Sergio Gor, the new US Ambassador to India, has going for him is this: He has President Donald Trump's ear. This makes him an extremely valuable commodity for New Delhi. Gor represents a challenge — and an opportunity.

Every political appointee in the US — from Vice President JD Vance to Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — rushed to publicly congratulate Gor on his new assignment. The reason: Gor was the one to sign off on their antecedents when they were being considered for their jobs. As the director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, he was responsible for research, background checks, security clearances, and recommendations on putative federal appointees and whether or not they should be hired.

Trump's first term was notable for the rapid turnover of officials. "If there was one criticism that I would level against the President, it is he didn't hire very well... He did not have experience at running government and didn't know how to put together a team that could work well with him," Trump's former acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told CNN in 2020, in what is considered an understatement.