NEW DELHI – President Donald Trump said Friday that he will nominate his head of presidential personnel, Sergio Gor, to be the U.S. ambassador to India, naming a close adviser to helm a post that comes as relations between New Delhi and Washington reach a decades-low over the issue of tariffs and India’s purchase of Russian oil.
In a Truth Social post announcing Gor’s nomination, Trump called him a “great friend, who has been at my side for many years” and claimed that as director of presidential personnel, Gor hired almost 4,000 people into government roles, a figure that could not be independently verified. Gor previously ran a pro-Trump political action committee and a publishing firm that paid Trump millions of dollars for his books.
The position of ambassador requires Senate confirmation, and Trump said Gor would remain in his current role until that happens. The president also said he will name Gor special envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs. It is unclear when Gor will start that role, as it may be made by appointment.
“For the most populous Region in the World, it is important that I have someone I can fully trust to deliver on my Agenda,” Trump said.
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Gor, who has worked for Trump in many capacities over the years, is a relative unknown among South Asia experts. In his White House role, Gor was viewed as a fire wall against foreign policy job seekers who espoused more hawkish views on military intervention than Trump, according to Justin Logan, a foreign policy expert at the libertarian Cato Institute.
The Trump adviser repeatedly clashed with billionaire Elon Musk – who formerly oversaw the U.S. DOGE Service – over recommendations for government appointments, notably the president’s nomination of Musk ally Jared Isaacman to head NASA. Gor provided Trump printouts showing Isaacman’s history of Democratic donations. Trump told Musk he was pulling Isaacman’s nomination over loyalty concerns.
If named as U.S. ambassador to India, Gor will be responsible for managing a frosty diplomatic relationship between Washington and New Delhi.
The United States and India seemed primed to strengthen ties when Trump returned to the White House, but in recent weeks, the relationship has soured after Trump levied 50 percent tariffs on India for what he cited as punishment for New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has responded by signaling it will strengthen relations with the BRICS bloc, which includes Russia, China and Brazil.
The relationship has also been made more complicated after Trump’s repeated claims that he helped broker a ceasefire in the May conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian officials have been upset that Trump is taking credit, because it goes against their long-standing position that issues with its nuclear archival should be handled bilaterally. Pakistan thanked the president for his help and nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Gor previously served as spokesman for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky). The post of U.S. ambassador to India has been vacant since Eric Garcetti, the former Los Angeles mayor who was appointed to serve in New Delhi by President Joe Biden, left the role in January.