Trump axes chief saboteur of Musk relationship in White House shakeup
Donald Trump kicked out the chief saboteur of his relationship with Elon Musk from the White House.
Sergio Gor served as director of the Presidential Personnel Office and oversaw hiring and firings across the administration, with a particular focus on loyalty.
But he is now leaving to become US ambassador to India and will be replaced by Dan Scavino, who has worked for the President since he was first hired as Trump’s aide at the age of 16.
The seismic tremor at the White House came after Gor’s bitter clash with Elon Musk over the billionaire’s choice of NASA chief Jared Isaacman.
Musk left the Trump government just days after Isaacman was abandoned by the White House and branded Gor a ‘snake’. Gor reportedly ran dazzlingly around the West Wing, showing her phone that Tesla stock prices were falling.
Gor’s ouster from the White House comes as Trump met with Isaacman in recent weeks to discuss reviving his NASA candidacy. In May, Gor withdrew after leaving a file on Trump’s desk showing Isaacman’s donations to Democrats.
Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier on Sunday: ‘I am pleased to announce that in addition to the Trump Administration’s remaining Deputy Chief of Staff, the great Dan Scavino will become the head of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, replacing Sergio Gor, who has done a wonderful job in that position, and will now be Ambassador to India.
Dan will be responsible for selecting and appointing almost all positions in the government, a very large and important position. Congratulations Dan, you’ll do a great job!!!’
From left: Aide Walt Nauta, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, aide to President Sergio Gor and an aide wait for U.S. President Donald Trump to board Marine One on the South Lawn before joining him on May 1.
Trump and Musk talk before leaving the White House on their way to his South Florida home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on March 14
Katie Miller, wife of White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, listens as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, White House Chief of Staff Dan Scavino and White House Communications Director Stephen Cheung look at their smartphones during a press conference with US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, DC, USA, 30 May
Gor was announced as the administration’s ambassador to India on September 8 and was confirmed to the post on October 7.
Former White House chief Steve Bannon said: ‘Dan is a former Trump aide, no one knows club selection better than him.’
As a freshman in high school, Scavino became a caddy and bag room assistant at Briar Hall Country Club, known today as Westchester National Golf Club.
Scavino returned to the club as assistant manager in 2004 and became general manager in 2006.
He continued to work for the Trump family and transitioned into politics in 2015 with the billionaire’s first campaign. Even after Trump left the White House in 2021, Scavino remained at Mar-a-Lago as a political consultant.
Scavino returned to Washington with Trump earlier in the year, where he served as White House Deputy Chief of Staff, and recently became engaged to attorney Erin Elmore, who works in the administration as the U.S. State Department’s Director of Art in Embassies.
Nick Solheim, CEO of the conservative staff training nonprofit American Moment, which worked with the Presidential Personnel Office during Trump’s transition, said: ‘Mr. Gor has done a great job revolutionizing the Presidential Personnel Office.
‘He will continue to do great things as President Trump’s representative in India. ‘This mission to a country as critical as India reflects the confidence Mr. Gor has in delivering on the President’s agenda.’
Regarding Scavino taking on the new staffing task, Solheim said, ‘As someone who has worked closely with the President for decades, there is no better person than Dan Scavino to lead the PPO.’ I believe Mr. Scavino will continue Mr. Gor’s tradition of placing ideologically aligned people in positions of high influence to advance the President’s agenda.’
The roller-coaster ride of Trump’s relationship with Musk, the world’s richest man, caught the attention of many political observers last year.
After weeks of threatening the GOP following the Trump-Musk divorce in July and the passage of the budget bill that Trump has constantly criticized, the ‘America Party’ has officially filed a Declaration of Organization for its political party with the Federal Election Commission.
On July 4, Musk asked his 221.7 million followers on X if it was time to start a new political party and oust Republicans who supported Trump’s signature budget bill; That bill narrowly passed Congress after weeks of debate and plans by different factions of the GOP to tank the legislation at various points in the process.
Musk then notably stayed out of politics for a few months, returning to focus on his work before being spotted at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service at Trump’s lodge last month.
Musk shared a photo of himself and Trump from the event and wrote that their reunion was ‘for Charlie.’
