Hawkish Muslim Brotherhood expert to fill Mideast slot on Trump’s National Security Council
GOP Senate staffer Eric Trager joins crowded field of Mideast-related appointees; will take over White House post from Brett McGurk, who played large role in shaping Mideast policy
Eric Trager, a Republican staffer on the Senate Armed Services Committee, will become the next White House National Security Council senior director for the Middle East and North Africa, a source familiar with the matter confirmed Wednesday to The Times of Israel.
He will replace Brett McGurk, who played a massive role in crafting outgoing US President Joe Biden’s Mideast policy, the source said, confirming reporting in Jewish Insider.
But it is unclear whether Trager will have as much influence, as he’ll be joining an already crowded field of figures appointed to Mideast-related posts, including Steve Witkoff, who will serve as special envoy to the Mideast — a position that doesn’t exist in the Biden administration. Trump also appointed a deputy for Witkoff — former State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus, in addition to hostage envoy Adam Boehler and senior adviser for Arab and Mideast affairs Massad Boulos.
Trager, Witkoff, Ortagus, Boehler and Boulos will all be working out of the White House. This will be in addition to already-existing positions in the State Department that haven’t yet been announced. Trump is reportedly slated to tap former US special envoy for Syria Joel Rayburn to be assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs.
Trager previously worked at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a pro-Israel think tank where his research focused on Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood. He authored a book on the group, and he later characterized the Brotherhood as an “international hate group” seeking to launder its reputation abroad.
He most recently has been a staffer for the Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee. A 2005 Harvard University graduate with a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, he has donated to a Washington, DC, synagogue and to Harvard Hillel, according to those organizations’ fundraising reports. On his account on the social media site X, he has shared posts advocating for the Israeli hostages in Gaza and criticizing the International Criminal Court’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
News of Trager’s appointment quickly drew praise from conservatives and pro-Israel voices on social media.
“While nothing is official until you read it on Truth Social, reports that my good friend and longtime colleague Eric Trager may be tapped as NSC Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa are very exciting,” tweeted Rich Goldberg, a senior adviser to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “Playtime is over for the mullahs and Muslim Brotherhood.”
