President-elect Trump on Friday announced that former State Department official Alex Wong will be appointed assistant to the president and principal deputy national security advisor, and that Sebastian Gorka, a former aide, will serve as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism.
Both men served under Trump during his first term. Wong served in the State Department as deputy special representative for North Korea, and the deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and pacific affairs.
Rep. Mike Waltz, who was tapped by Trump to serve as his national security adviser, praised Wong on X.
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“Alex has a proven record of delivering results during President Trump’s first term where he helped negotiate the historic summits with Kim Jong Un that stabilized relations,” he wrote. “He will have an essential role in helping keep America safe!”
Gorka, who Trump noted was a “legal immigrant,” previously served as deputy assistant to the president during Trump’s first term. He’s also a former Fox News contributor.
“Since 2015, Dr. Gorka has been a tireless advocate for the America First Agenda and the MAGA Movement, serving previously as Strategist to the President in the first Trump Administration,” Trump said in a news release.
Gorka previously served during the first seven months of the Trump administration as a deputy assistant and strategist focused on foreign policy and national security.
He left the Trump White House in 2017.
The appointments were part of a slew of announcements from Trump as he begins to shape his cabinet for his second term.
