US President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday announced that former state department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus will serve as deputy special presidential envoy for Middle East Peace during his second administration. She will be working under Steven Witkoff, Trump’s nominee for special envoy to the Middle East.
Trump announced the appointment of Ortagus on his Truth Social platform.
“I am pleased to announce Morgan Ortagus as Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for Middle East Peace, to the Honorable Steven Witkoff,” Trump said in his post.
Who is Morgan Ortagus?
Morgan Ortagus has a background in diplomacy and national security and currently serves as an active US navy reserve intelligence officer.
Between 2019 and 2021, she was the spokesperson at the department of state under Mike Pompeo, where she contributed to the historic Abraham Accords, which achieved unparalleled peace in the Middle East, according to Trump.
Before her role at the state department, she served as a financial intelligence analyst at the department of the treasury and, from 2010 to 2011, was the deputy US treasury attaché to Saudi Arabia.
“Morgan Ortagus has had experience in Diplomacy and National Security, and is an active US Navy Reserve Intelligence Officer. From 2019-2021, Morgan served as Spokesperson at the Department of State (Pompeo!), where she was a member of my Historic Abraham Accords team that brought unprecedented Peace to the Middle East. Earlier, she worked at the Department of the Treasury as a financial intelligence analyst and, from 2010-2011, was the Deputy US Treasury Attaché to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Trump wrote in his post.
‘Morgan fought me for three years’
While announcing Ortagus’s appointment, the president-elect said that she had initially fought with him for three years but hoped she had learned her lesson. Trump acknowledged that such arrangements often do not work out but noted her strong Republican support, stressing that his decision was made for them, not for himself.
“Early on Morgan fought me for three years, but hopefully has learned her lesson. These things usually don’t work out, but she has strong Republican support, and I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for them. Let’s see what happens.”
He expressed optimism that Ortagus would be an asset to Steven Witkoff, whom he described as a great leader and talent, in efforts to bring stability and prosperity to the Middle East.
“She will hopefully be an asset to Steve, a great leader and talent, as we seek to bring calm and prosperity to a very troubled region. I expect great results, and soon!”
