Morgan Ortagus, a popular Fox News contributor with a focus on providing analysis of foreign policy and intelligence matters, is reportedly moving on from the network. Though no official announcement has been made, an NBC report indicated that Ortagus could soon join President Donald Trump’s administration as a spokeswoman for the State Department.
NBC cited three anonymous officials in their report, and confirmed with Fox News that Ortagus’s paid contributor position was formally ended on Thursday.
However, neither Ortagus or the State Department or the White House National Security Council responded to requests for comment, nor was there a response from a consulting firm co-founded by Ortagus known as GO Advisors.
Ortagus would replace outgoing State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, herself a former Fox News reporter and host who joined the Trump administration in its early days in 2017.
Naval Reserve officer with government experience
Though CNN took an underhanded shot at “yet another” Fox News personality joining the Trump administration — they seem to forget the close eight-year relationship between the media and Obama administration, with plenty of personalities going back and forth — the network had to admit that Ortagus is well-credentialed for the role with the State Department.
Ortagus is an active officer of the U.S. Naval Reserve with prior experience working in government. Her government service began as a public affairs officer for the U.S. Agency for International Development prior to serving as an intelligence analyst in the Treasury Department’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis.
NBC also noted that Ortagus wrote a thesis on counterinsurgency while studying in the master’s program at Johns Hopkins University.
As for other former members of the Fox team who moved on to join Trump’s adminstration, that would include the recent hiring of former Fox reporter Lea Gabrielle — former Naval combat aviator and intelligence officer — who will lead the Global Engagement Center that is tasked with countering foreign disinformation and propaganda.
Others include National Security Adviser John Bolton and White House strategic communications director Mercedes Schlapp, both former Fox contributors, according to NBC. Then there is former Fox News executive Bill Shine, who recently left his role as White House communications director to serve on Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign.
Replacing Heather Nauert
Ortagus would succeed Nauert in the role as State Department spokeswoman. Nauert had initially been nominated to succeed Nikki Haley as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, but withdrew herself from consideration after intense media scrutiny following that nomination had a negative impact on her family.
It had remained unclear for some time if Nauert would return to her role as spokeswoman or leave the administration entirely, but a congratulatory tweet from the president on Friday revealed that Nauert would join the board of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Program.
A huge thanks to @HeatherNauert for serving America at the @StateDept. Great work! I’m proud to have you join the Fulbright board! https://t.co/oq0ZaA3MID
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 30, 2019
As there has been no official announcement about Ortagus yet, it is possible that she may still be seen on Fox News in the interim, albeit in an unpaid guest role and not as a paid contributor. A formal announcement on the move can be expected as soon as official paperwork and background checks are completed.
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