From Uzbek Roots to US Envoy: Who is Sergio Gor, Trump’s India ambassador pick whom Musk called a ‘snake’?

Who is Sergio Gor?

US President Donald Trump US President Donald Trump has nominated his close aide Sergio Gor as the next US Ambassador to India.

If confirmed by the Senate, Gor will also serve as special envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs, a region that includes Pakistan and Bangladesh, where the US currently has no ambassadors

Gor will replace Eric Garcetti, a Democratic appointee, who returned to California after the end of the Biden presidency.

Who is Sergia Gor? 

Sergio Gor, born Sergey Gorokhovsky in 1986 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (then part of the Soviet Union). His family relocated first to Malta and later to the United States, where he became a citizen in 1999 at the age of around 12.

His father, Yuri Gorokhovsky, was an aviation engineer involved in designing Soviet aircraft, including the IL-76, which is used by the Indian Air Force. His mother is believed to be of Israeli origin.

Gor grew up in Los Angeles and later moved to Washington, DC, to study at George Washington University, close to the White House. While there, he was active in conservative circles, laying the foundation for a career in Republican politics.

Early in his career, he held roles with the Republican National Committee and served as spokesman for GOP lawmakers Steve King and Michele Bachmann, both known for their far-right stances.

He is perhaps best known for his long association with Senator Rand Paul, eventually becoming the Kentucky senator’s deputy chief of staff and communications director.

In 2020, Gor transitioned to the Trump campaign, where he served as chief of staff for the Trump Victory Finance Committee.

After Trump’s 2024 re-election, he was appointed Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office. Trump credits him with placing nearly 4,000 loyalists in key government roles.

Gor is widely recognized for his loyalty to Trump but has drawn criticism for what some describe as an unpredictable management style.

He notably clashed with Elon Musk, one of Trump’s top advisers, and reportedly played a role in blocking Jared Isaacman’s nomination to head NASA by flagging Isaacman’s past donations to Democrats.

Musk called him 'snake' 

Despite generally maintaining good relations with Donald Trump, Elon Musk has publicly criticized one of his closest aides. In June this year, Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) to lash out at Sergio Gor, calling him a “snake.”

The remark followed a New York Post report alleging that Gor, responsible for vetting thousands of executive-branch employees, had himself failed to complete the necessary paperwork for a permanent security clearance.

The New York Times reported that Gor had a bitter clash with Musk, once a close adviser to Trump and spearheaded an initiative that upended government systems under the banner of cost-cutting and reducing bureaucracy.