India–US ties enter new phase as Trump picks Sergio Gor as Ambassador
Sergio Gor, the White House personnel director and a loyal member of President Donald Trump‘s inner circle, has been nominated as the next American envoy to India, a move that comes amid an estrangement of ties between the two countries over trade-related issues. President Trump, announcing the nomination of 38-year-old Gor to the key ambassadorial position, said he will also serve as the special envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs.
“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‘,” the president said on social media. Gor played a major role in the political action committee (PAC) of Trump’s campaign in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election, and his influence increased manifold after he was tasked with vetting political appointees in the new administration.
In January, the then US ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, stepped down from the post, paving the way for the Trump administration to appoint its new envoy. US Vice President J D Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick welcomed Trump’s decision to nominate Gor as the next ambassador to India. There were reports that Gor played a role in Trump’s dramatic falling out with tech billionaire Elon Musk, who had even described Gor as a “snake“. The process of confirmation by the Senate of Gor’s new assignment will be the next step.
“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,” Trump said in a social media post. 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, he said.
Sergio is a “great friend”, who has been at “my side” for many years, the US president said, adding he worked on my “historic presidential campaigns”, published my best-selling books, and ran one of the biggest “Super PACs”. The US president said Gor will remain in his current role at the White House until his confirmation by the Senate.
In his reaction, Gor said he was “beyond grateful” to Trump for showing “incredible trust and confidence” in nominating him to be his next US ambassador to India and the special envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs. “Nothing has made me prouder than to serve the American people through the great work of this administration. Our White House has achieved historic results in ‘Making America Great Again’,” he posted on ‘X’. “It will be the honour of my life to represent the US,” he added.
Gor’s appointment as special envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs was criticized by many strategic affairs experts in India, as he will be watching New Delhi’s relationship within the region, including with Pakistan, in that role. “This means he will be consulting and coordinating with other US ambassadors in the region to develop a more integrated approach,” said Kanwal Sibal, a former foreign secretary. “This is a new form of ‘hyphenating’ India and Pakistan again, amongst other things,” he observed.
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Pappu sends another Pappu to be his ambassador ….but not USA ambassador