WASHINGTON — President Trump hosted an Oval Office send-off Monday for his former personnel chief Sergio Gor, who is moving to India to serve as ambassador in what critics call a “soft landing” following The Post’s reporting on his shady past.
Gor triggered a seismic political clash between Trump and Elon Musk earlier this year, misleadingly claimed throughout his career to be “from” Malta and went months without submitting his own standard security clearance forms while vetting others to serve in the Trump administration.
“Most people love him. Some people don’t like him so much — I’ll be honest with you, Sergio,” Trump told Gor, who was born in Uzbekistan and not the idyllic Mediterranean isle, as he led colleagues to believe.
“Some people, when they don’t like Sergio, they don’t like him. But when they like him, they like him more than anybody.”
Gor took his oath of office using a Trump-signed Bible — which is available starting at $64.99 online and sometimes for free in the “merch room” next to the Oval Office.
Gor’s dispatch to Delhi was approved by the Senate last month, but his nomination was not considered individually and instead was rolled in with dozens of others in a new innovation by Republican leaders.
The Oval Office event closely resembled the president’s sendoff for Musk in May when he left his unpaid role leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“Sergio’s leadership was essential to fulfilling the historic mandate entrusted to us by the American people,” Trump said.
“I’m trusting Sergio to help strengthen one of our country’s most important international relationships, and that’s the strategic partnership with the Republic of India. It’s a big deal.”
As Musk was departing earlier this year, Gor convinced Trump to yank the nomination of Jared Isaacman to lead NASA over his prior support for Democrats — after Gor spoke of “payback” against Musk for criticizing his rate of filling 4,000 administration roles.
In stunning fallout blamed on Gor, an enraged Musk endorsed Trump’s impeachment, claimed the president was incriminated in files from the Jeffrey Epstein case and took steps to form a third party that could tank Republicans in the midterms and derail Trump’s second term.
Trump and Musk, the president’s top financial backer in last year’s election, recently patched up their relationship and the president last week renominated Isaacman to lead NASA — this time with Gor on his way out the door.
Critics aren’t sure why Gor, whose surname previously was Gorokhovsky, dragged his feet on his background check paperwork and instead chose to operate with a temporary clearance.
During the presidential transition late last year, Gor had insisted that the checks were unnecessary and a way for the “deep state” to reject appointees, though virtually all other Trump officials complied and submitted their paperwork before taking their roles.
Many insiders suspected he was embarrassed by the fact that he bragged about being Maltese, despite being born in the then-Soviet Union — a fact that would have to be disclosed in his application — though others speculated that there might be another reason. Gor’s family lived in Malta for a time before moving again to the US when he was 12 years old.
Gor ultimately submitted his background check paperwork and the findings were a popular topic of water-cooler discussion among officials when Trump in August announced he would be nominated as ambassador.
Gor was praised at the sendoff celebration by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro and assassinated Turning Point USA cofounder Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika.
“I am so proud of you, and Charlie is going to be with you every single day in spirit, and I will be praying for you every day, because I know that this is just the beginning of an incredible opportunity for you,” Erika Kirk said. “Sir, thank you for allowing Sergio to have this beautiful moment.”
TPUSA was an important early source of resumes for Trump administration hires.
Gor also now serves as presidential envoy to Central Asia and — leaning into his recently disclosed connection to the five-nation region — last week attended an East Room dinner with Trump and the leaders of those countries.
Gor was replaced as director of presidential personnel by Dan Scavino, one of Trump’s most trusted and longest-serving aides.
The former personnel chief rocketed from obscurity as an aide to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) by launching a book publishing company in 2021 that reaped millions publishing Trump’s books. In 2022 he bought a seven bedroom mansion near Palm Beach, Fla.
Trump has not fired any of his key aides during his second term — also “promoting” former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz to serve as ambassador to the United Nations after Waltz accidentally added an anti-Trump journalist to a Signal group chat discussing airstrikes in Yemen.
