 "Is Laura Loomer behind Sergio Gor's move from White House to India?")
Earlier this week, news emerged that US President Donald Trump has picked Sergio Gor as the ambassador to India.
Gor, the Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office (PPO), will replace American Ambassador Eric Carcetti if he is confirmed by the US Senate.
However, there is speculation that far-right activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer could be behind Gor leaving the White House for the posting in India.
But what do we know? Is Loomer interested in Gor’s job at the White House?
Let’s take a closer look:
What happened?
There is speculation that Loomer is interested in replacing Gor at the White House.
Though Loomer welcomed Gor’s nomination as ambassador to India, the reaction of her supporters sparked speculation in Maga world. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon was among those saying Loomer should be on the “shortlist” for Gor’s job. Loomer responded by saying it would be an “honour” to serve in the post if it was offered to her – the opposite of a firm denial.
Loomer, otherwise a fringe figure on the US political scene, has developed quite the reputation as a White House power player alongside campaign chief Susie Wiles, Stephen Miller, Steve Witkoff and JD Vance.
Multiple media reports have painted her as someone with a unique relationship with Trump – someone who has access to the US president and is not afraid to use it or put across her ideas. Trump, for home loyalty is the most paramount virtue, seemingly takes Loomer and her self-styled status as a “loyalty and accountability enforcer” seriously.
Trump has rewarded Loomer by inviting her to the Oval Office, offering him her seat on his plane during the 2024 campaign, and bringing her to the 2024 debate with Kamala Harris as his guest.
Loomer’s influence over Trump was most recently demonstrated in April when a number of National Security Council (NSC) officials including then NSA Director Timothy Haugh were fired. This came in the aftermath of a 30-minute meeting between Trump and Loomer.
Gor, who had been in his position for six months, was also reportedly in attendance alongside National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Vance, and Wise.
Loomer by this time had launched her own Loomered Strategies firm and offered to vet candidates’ background and loyalty to Trump. Loomer in the meeting is said to have presented research showing that these six individuals were disloyal to the president. This put Gor, who is responsible for vetting candidates’ background and loyalty, in a tough position.
A media report at the time mentioned that Loomer had “made recommendations to President Donald Trump about who he should fire.” The US president after the firings referred to Loomer as “very good patriot and a very strong person” who only made recommendations.
“Sometimes I listen to those recommendations, like I do with everybody,” Trump said. He added. “She’s usually very constructive. She recommended certain people for jobs…and sometimes I listen to those recommendations.”
He previously called her a “a supporter of mine” with “strong opinions”.
‘Loomering’
Loomer at the time took to social media to gloat about the NSC firings – a practice she has called “Loomering.”
“You know how you know the NSC officials I reported to President Trump are disloyal people who have played a role in sabotaging Donald Trump?” she wrote on X.
“I woke up this morning to learn that there are still people in and around the West Wing who are LEAKING to the hostile, left-wing media about President Trump’s *confidential* and *private* meetings in the Oval Office.”
She added: “I will continue reiterating the importance of, and the necessity of STRONG VETTING, for the sake of protecting the President of the United States of America, and our national security.”
Loomer also took credit for the departure of Dr Vinay Prasad, the Food and Drug Administration’s polarising vaccine chief in July.
Prasad joined the FDA in May after years as an academic researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, where he frequently criticised the FDA’s approach to drug approvals and COVID-19 vaccines.
She wrote on X, “How did this Trump-hating Bernie Bro get into the Trump admin???”
Prasad later returned to the Trump administration at the behest of Wiles and US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy. Loomer was also vocal in opposition to Trump’s first choice for surgeon general, whose selection was ultimately withdrawn.
Trump pulled the nomination of former Fox News medical contributor Janette Nesheiwat just before Senate confirmation hearings in May. Loomer had posted on X that “we can’t have a pro-COVID vaccine nepo appointee who is currently embroiled in a medical malpractice case and who didn’t go to medical school in the US” as the surgeon general.
Loomer took a victory lap after the Justice Department fired Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey and a federal prosecutor in Manhattan who worked on the cases against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jeffrey Epstein.
Comey’s ouster, Loomer claimed on X, followed her two-month “pressure campaign.”
White House insiders dismiss Loomer
But many inside the White House have downplayed Loomer as an outside agitator and a menace.
Gor, who works inside the PPO, has reportedly had to himself “swat away” some of her attempts to meddle in personnel decisions.
“Her influence is vastly overstated,” a person in the know inside the White House told Financial Times. The person compared Loomer to a “fly that keeps getting in your face and keeps coming back, no matter how much you swat it away.”
Loomer has hit back at her critics.
“It’s pretty incredible that as a civilian I’m uncovering this information without any funding or any type of government clearance,” Loomer told Financial Times, “and yet people who work for the president continue to drop the ball as it relates to . . . vetting.”
It makes sense why Loomer would want the post of White House Presidential Personnel Office Director.
After all, the director is in charge of staffing across the executive branch – a powerful position that is responsible for staffing and vetting thousands of jobs.
Loomer, remember, is not part of the White House or the federal government and has no official authority. All she has is her relationship with Trump – which counts for much in Washington these days. However, things can change at any time.
With Gor set to leave the White House, Loomer taking his job would give her, the perennial outsider, the chance to finally become an insider.
However it remains to be seen if Loomer is a serious contender.
With inputs from agencies
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