Trump appoints Morgan Ortagus as deputy envoy for Middle East peace

Donald Trump named Morgan Ortagus as deputy special presidential envoy for Middle East peace to work under Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, the US president-elect announced in a Friday evening post to his social media platform, Truth Social.

“I am pleased to announce Morgan Ortagus as Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for Middle East Peace, to the Honorable Steven Witkoff.” Trump wrote. “Early on, Morgan fought me for three years, but hopefully has learned her lesson.”

Trump went on to note that the decision to appoint Ortagus to the position was made due to her Republican backing.

'Lets see what happens'

“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.”

The president-elect continued, expressing his desire that Ortagus would prove useful to Witkoff as his administration aims “to bring calm and prosperity to a very troubled region.”

“Morgan Ortagus has had experience in Diplomacy and National Security, and is an active US Navy Reserve Intelligence Officer,” Trump wrote. “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.”

Before that, Ortagus served as a financial intelligence analyst at the Treasury Department, Trump stated, noting that she was also the deputy US Treasury attaché to Saudi Arabia in 2010 and 2011.

Trump’s decision was commended by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R–South Carolina), who described Ortagus as someone who “understands the region as well as anyone I’ve ever met.”