US President-Elect Donald Trump has tapped a controversial right-wing figure, known for his anti-Islam and anti-Palestinian views, to serve as his deputy assistant and director of counter-terrorism.
Sebastian Gorka, who was born in the UK to Hungarian parents, has strong links to European far-right groups and was a key supporter of Trump’s 2017 ban on refugees from predominantly Muslim countries.
He also said there is "no such thing as Palestine" and said Israel should respond to Hamas’s October 7 surprise attack, which began the Gaza war, by "killing every single one of them".
He has also said that Islam is "not a religion of peace" and claimed that terrorism is rooted in the teachings of the Quran, dismissing the idea that political and social problems in the Muslim world were a cause.
His appointment doesn’t require confirmation by the US Senate and will allow Gorka to influence policy on immigration as well as militant groups, according to The Washington Post.
Gorka served in Trump's previous administration as a strategist and deputy assistant to the president but only for seven months in 2017.
His views were seen as fringe even by other Trump supporters and close to Steve Bannon, another far-right associate of Trump known for his anti-Islam views, who recently completed a four-month prison sentence.
Announcing Gorka's appointment to the new role, Trump praised him as a "tireless advocate for the America First Agenda and MAGA movement".
However, than announcement has already caused consternation, with Michael Anton, a national security official in Trump’s first administration withdrawing his candidacy to become deputy national security advisor as a result of Gorka's new role, according to The Washington Post.
John Bolton, a leading right-winger who was Trump’s national security advisor before turning against him, described Gorka as a "conman" saying that his appointment wouldn't "bode well for counterterrorism efforts".