Trump plans to install ally who publishes his books as head of personnel

WASHINGTON - Mr Sergio Gor, an ally of US President-elect Donald Trump and who has helped run the publishing company that produces his books, has been tapped to run the presidential personnel office in his administration, according to four people briefed on the matter.

The role sounds administrative but can wield power, particularly for a president who, in his first term in office and in the transition before his second one, is keenly focused on who fills what jobs and whether prospective staff meet his perception of loyalty.

Mr Gor declined to comment. A spokesperson for the Trump transition did not respond to an email seeking comment.

The appointment was reported earlier by the website Semafor.

Putting Mr Gor in the role had been under discussion for several days, according to three of the people briefed on the matter.

There was an effort by some Trump associates to put Mr Blake Masters, a former candidate for US senator from Arizona, who is close to venture capitalist Peter Thiel, into the personnel role, according to one of the people briefed on the matter.

But Mr Gor was the eventual choice.

Mr Gor, who previously worked for Senator Rand Paul, co-founded Winning Team Publishing with Mr Donald Trump Jr after the elder Trump left the White House.

Trump has published three books through the company, including one with a now-iconic image of a bloodied Trump pumping his fist after he was shot at an open-air rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in an assassination attempt in July.

Mr Gor also was CEO of a super political action committee that spent tens of millions of dollars on Trump’s behalf, with major donors including Mr Ike Perlmutter, former CEO of Marvel Entertainment and a Mar-a-Lago club member.

Under the new staff structure that Ms Susie Wiles, Trump’s choice for White House chief of staff, has put in place, Mr Gor’s office will be under the purview of Mr Taylor Budowich, who has been announced as the deputy White House chief of staff for communications and personnel.

The presidential personnel office was, in Trump’s final year in office, led by Mr John McEntee, a loyalist who took over the role just as the coronavirus pandemic was beginning.

But Mr McEntee, with Trump’s encouragement, sought to systemically purge people who weren’t loyal to Trump, who has lamented that his biggest regret about his last term was many of the people he hired.

For the next administration, Trump has been intensely focused on loyalty, as he fills key roles within the West Wing as well as at the handful of agencies he cares about, including the Justice Department, the Defence Department, the CIA and the Department of Homeland Security. NYTIMES