President Donald Trump’s man in charge of vetting staff has not yet been fully vetted himself for a security clearance five months into the second Trump administration.
Sergio Gor is the director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. He is tasked with vetting thousands of executive branch employees.
However, Gor has not yet submitted paperwork on his own background for a permanent clearance, according to a report from the New York Post which cited multiple sources.
Gor’s office is responsible for assessing candidates for approximately 4,000 political appointees including recruiting and screening candidates as well as dealing with security clearances and conflicts of interests. Some 1,600 of the positions require Senate confirmation.
The powerful Trump aide has yet to turn in his Standard Form 86, or SF-86, the more than 100-page background investigation form required for a security clearance, three administration sources said.
The extensive form covers citizenship, employment history, relatives, foreign contacts and travel, financial activities, drug use and more.
Gor, 38, is reportedly from Malta. However, an official there could not confirm his birthplace, and Gor declined to provide it to the Post besides to say it was not Russia.
Gor is a close MAGA ally of Trump and his son Don Jr. with whom he co-founded Winning Team Publishing in 2021.
The top Trump aide also once worked as a booker for Fox News and as a spokesperson for Sen. Rand Paul. He also served as officiant and DJ at Matt Gaetz’s wedding in 2021, according to Vanity Fair.
While his work largely takes place behind the scenes at the White House, Gor made headlines earlier this month for being the person behind the move to withdraw Jared Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA and clashing with
While he does not have a permanent security clearance, the Trump staffer does have an interim security clearance.
Gor opposed the use of the SF-86 during the presidential transition and was concerned with Trump picks being weeded out by the “deep state.”
A source told the Post that he was “actively working to convince everyone” that the form wasn’t necessary and Trump could provide the clearance through executive authority.
A White House official claimed Gor had completed the form and noted his interim clearance, which is given while background checks are completed.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused the Post of “engaging in baseless gossip.”
White House counsel David Warrington also told the Post that Gor is “fully compliant with all applicable ethical and legal obligations.His security clearance is active, any insinuation he doesn’t maintain a clearance is false.”
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