Morgan Ortagus is a prominent Jewish figure in American foreign policy and national security circles. She has held positions in both Republican and Democratic administrations and has worked in the private sector on various national security and financial issues.
Born on July 10, 1982, in Auburndale, Florida, Ortagus pursued a music career, studying to become an opera singer. After the September 11, 2001, attacks, she shifted her focus to political science, graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Florida Southern College. She later earned a master’s in business administration and international relations from Johns Hopkins University.
Ortagus’s career in government began in 2007 as a public affairs officer at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In this role, she was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, during the height of the Iraq War.
Following her time in Baghdad, Ortagus transitioned to an intelligence analyst role at the U.S. Treasury Department, focusing on tracking terrorist financing. She later served as the deputy U.S. Treasury Attaché in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 2010 to 2011.
After leaving government service in 2011, Ortagus entered the private sector, co-founding a consulting firm and working in finance at EY and Standard Chartered Bank. She also became involved in Republican politics, serving as a national co-chair of Maverick PAC, an organization for conservative young professionals. During this time, she was a vocal advocate for gender parity within the Republican Party.
Ortagus also served as a national security contributor for Fox News, providing analysis and commentary on foreign policy issues.
In 2019, Ortagus was appointed the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department under Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. In this role, she traveled extensively, coordinating messaging campaigns and responding to major foreign policy events. As a spokesperson under former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, she was a vocal critic of Iran and China, particularly in response to Beijing’s attempts to shift blame for the COVID-19 pandemic onto the U.S.
Ortagus was heavily involved in the Donald Trump administration’s efforts to advance the Abraham Accords, a series of peace agreements between Israel and several Arab countries. She also played a role in pushing back against Chinese and Russian influence campaigns and highlighting the Chinese government’s genocide against the Uyghur population.
Ortagus later became one of the most recognizable public faces of the Trump administration’s foreign policy team through her role as State Department spokesperson under Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. She worked closely with officials involved in advancing the Abraham Accords, including Jared Kushner and Avi Berkowitz, and publicly defended the administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran. In interviews, Ortagus described the Abraham Accords team as a small, highly secretive group that coordinated closely to advance normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab states.
Following the end of the first Trump administration, Ortagus co-founded Rubicon Founders, a healthcare investment firm, and Polaris National Security, a think tank focused on American foreign policy. She also hosts “The Morgan Ortagus Show” on SiriusXM, where she discusses national security issues. Ortagus remains active in foreign policy and national security circles, advising various organizations, including the Atlantic Council, Concordia, and the International Republican Institute.
On January 3, 2025, President-elect Trump nominated Ortagus to serve as Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East under Steven Witkoff. However, Trump expressed public reservations due to their contentious political history and said he decided to nominate her because of her support among the Republican base. He did not provide details regarding their disagreements, but he was likely referring to her 2016 criticism of Trump’s isolationist views on foreign policy. Trump’s decision to appoint her as Witkoff’s deputy was likely influenced by her strong ties with senior Republicans such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Senator Lindsey Graham, and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz. She also worked closely with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, during the Abraham Accords negotiations, and the two have remained on good terms.
Following Trump’s return to office in 2025, Ortagus served as Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East under Steve Witkoff, focusing heavily on Lebanon and Hezbollah. She participated in efforts to implement and extend the November 2024 Israel-Lebanon ceasefire arrangement and helped facilitate quiet contacts involving Israeli and Lebanese civilian and military officials. Ortagus later said that these discussions, conducted largely out of public view, helped lay the groundwork for subsequent direct talks between Israeli and Lebanese representatives in Washington. She emphasized Hezbollah’s disarmament and the limitation of Iranian influence in Lebanon as central priorities.
In June 2025, Ortagus was appointed senior policy advisor at the U.S. mission to the United Nations following a shakeup at the National Security Council that removed numerous officials with ties to Israel and Iran.
In January 2026, Morgan Ortagus departed her role as Deputy Envoy to the Middle East.
Ortagus’s journey to Judaism began in 2007 while she was stationed in Baghdad. Seeking spiritual grounding in a war zone, she attended Shabbat services at a U.S. Army trailer, an experience that sparked a years-long process of Jewish study and conversion. While later serving in Saudi Arabia, a country historically hostile to Jews, she continued weekly remote lessons with her rabbi. She quietly observed Jewish practices in an environment where open Jewish religious life was difficult. Ortagus later said that practicing Judaism discreetly in the region deepened her appreciation for Jewish history and identity, describing the experience as “the most true form of a conversion” because of its clandestine nature. She ultimately completed her conversion at Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C. Ortagus married Jonathan Weinberger in 2013 in a ceremony officiated by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
After the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, Ortagus said she became more publicly expressive about her Jewish identity and observance. She described increasing her family’s involvement in Orthodox Jewish life and said she began wearing visible Jewish symbols daily, including a Magen David necklace and Star of David ring. During her diplomatic work in Lebanon, photographs of her wearing Jewish symbols generated controversy on Lebanese social media, with some critics arguing that such symbols demonstrated bias toward Israel. Ortagus rejected those claims, stating that the Magen David represented her religious faith rather than a political statement.
Ortagus has been a strong supporter of Israel throughout her career. Her work on the Abraham Accords significantly contributed to advancing peace and normalization between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Ortagus has also been critical of those who seek to delegitimize Israel or hold it to a double standard. She has condemned the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and has spoken out against anti-Semitism. Ortagus’s commitment to Israel is rooted in her professional experience and faith. She views Israel as a vital ally of the United States and a beacon of democracy in a volatile region.
She is divorced and has one daughter.
Sources: “Meet Morgan,” morganortagus.com.
“Morgan Ortagus,” premierespeakers.com.
“Morgan Ortagus,” Concordia.
“Morgan Ortagus,” International Republican Institute.
“Morgan Ortagus,” U.S. Department of State.
“Morgan Ortagus,” Atlantic Council.
Gabby Deutch, “For the State Dept’s top spokeswoman, her journey to Judaism began in Baghdad,” Jewish Insider, (April 24, 2020).
@realDonaldTrump, (January 3, 2025).
Jacob Magid, “Trump appoints Ortagus as deputy Mideast envoy, but admits he’s not excited about it,” Times of Israel, (January 4, 2025).
Tzippy Shmilovitz, Itamar Eichner, “Jewish convert and the Star of David ring that sparked controversy: Meet Morgan Ortagus,” Ynet, (February 9, 2025).
Gabby Deutch, Emily Jacobs, “Deputy Special Envoy Morgan Ortagus to leave post under Witkoff,” Jewish Insider, (June 9, 2025).
Gabby Deutch, “Morgan Ortagus joins U.S. mission to the U.N. after NSC shakeup,” Jewish Insider, (June 19, 2025).
Or Shaked, “The remarkable journey of Trump's senior Jewish diplomat,” Israel Hayom, (May 1, 2026).
U.S. Department of State, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.