Trump Hopes His Latest Nominee Has ‘Learned Her Lesson’

Trump named Morgan Ortagus to work under his Middle East envoy, but seemed pretty reluctant about it: "Let's see what happens."

President-elect Donald Trump gave his latest nominee a less-than-enthusiastic rollout in an announcement Friday.

In a press release and post to his platform Truth Social, Trump said he had chosen Morgan Ortagus to be his deputy special presidential envoy for Middle East peace. But Trump made clear he wasn’t excited about his own pick.

“Early on Morgan fought me for three years, but hopefully has learned her lesson,” Trump said. “These things usually don’t work out, but she has strong Republican support, and I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for them. Let’s see what happens.”

Trump added that Ortagus would “hopefully” be an asset to Steve Witkoff, the billionaire real estate executive Trump tapped to be his special envoy to the Middle East.

Ortagus served as a State Department spokesperson during Trump’s first presidency, under then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. An active U.S. Navy Reserve intelligence officer, she’d previously been a contributor to Fox News, commenting on national security issues.