In recent weeks more names have surfaced as potential members of the second Donald Trump administration, set to take office in January. As previously reported by Hungarian Conservative, the foreign policy team appears to be favourable toward Hungary, with Marco Rubio, a potential Secretary of State, and Mike Waltz, a candidate for National Security Advisor, aligning with Budapest on several key issues. The list of nominees has now been expanded, and notably so: Trump has selected Hungarian-born Sebastian Gorka for the position of director general for counter-terrorism.
In a statement, the President-elect announced that Sebastian Gorka would return to the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. ‘Since 2015 Dr. Gorka has been a tireless advocate for the America First Agenda and the MAGA Movement, previously serving as Strategist to the President during the first Trump administration,’ the statement read.
From Hungary to the White House
Born in West London in 1970 to Hungarian immigrant parents, Sebastian Gorka moved to Hungary at the age of 22, where he earned his PhD from Corvinus University. In 2002 he was invited to serve as an expert on the committee investigating Péter Medgyessy’s state security past but failed the national security screening required for the role.
During his time in Hungary, Gorka maintained a good relationship with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and, in 2007, became Vice-President of the Hungarian Democratic Forum, a now-defunct right-wing party from the regime change era. In 2008 he moved to the United States with his American wife, where he established the Knowledge Group think tank and later taught at the National Defense University in Washington.
Gorka played an active role in Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign and, in 2017, was appointed as a national security adviser to the president. However, he left the White House just seven months after the inauguration. At the time Gorka attributed his departure to opposition from ‘forces working against Trump’s MAGA agenda’.
Gorka remained a staunch supporter of Donald Trump through his radio show, America First, his podcast, and frequent appearances on cable news programmes. In 2022 he filed a lawsuit against the House Select Committee investigating the 6 January 2021 events at the Capitol, after it sought access to his phone records. Gorka condemned the committee’s subpoena as a ‘partisan fishing expedition’.
‘Honored beyond words to serve President @realdonaldtrump once again, in what will be the greatest Administration of the modern age,’ Gorka wrote in an Instagram post responding to the appointment.
Good News for Israel
Sebastian Gorka is known for his uncompromising stance on radical Islam and counter-terrorism, often taking a harder line than Donald Trump himself. This suggests that the next Trump administration, with figures like Rubio,Waltz and Gorka, is likely to adopt a far more pro-Israel position than the current Democratic administration. Such a shift could provide Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) with greater latitude in Gaza, supporting their goal of decisively eliminating Hamas.
In a previous interview, Gorka criticized the Obama administration’s approach to counter-terrorism, likening it to treating a cancer patient with flu medicine—entirely ineffective. ‘If you misdiagnose anything, whether it’s a serious disease or an international geopolitical threat, you will never solve it. For the last eight years, we had an administration that said, “Oh, it’s economics. Oh, these people are disenfranchised.” No, it’s not about economics. It’s not about being disenfranchised. It’s about people who have an ideology that is evil and has to be destroyed.’
It is already clear that the next Trump administration will stand firmly with Israel. After the International Criminal Court issued an international arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu last week, Mike Waltz wrote on X that the ICC ‘has no credibility’ and asserted that Israel has lawfully defended its people and borders against genocidal terrorists. He also pledged that the incoming Trump administration would take action against the ‘anti-Semitic bias’ at both the ICC and the United Nations.
Reports have since emerged suggesting that the Trump administration might impose sanctions on ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, whom they view as the driving force behind the arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu. Such a move would not be unprecedented. On September 2, 2020 the United States government sanctioned ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and senior prosecution official Phakiso Mochochoko for the ICC’s attempt to investigate US personnel.
As reported by Hungarian Conservative, Hungary has also refused to comply with the ICC’s arrest warrant. On Friday Viktor Orbán extended an invitation to Benjamin Netanyahu for an official visit, assuring that the ICC’s arrest warrant against him would ‘not be observed’. Orbán described the warrant as unjustified and affirmed that the Israeli leader would be able to conduct negotiations in Hungary under proper and secure conditions.
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