Morgan Ortagus

Morgan Ortagus
Spokesperson for the United States Department of State
In office April 3, 2019 – January 20, 2021
President	Donald Trump
Secretary	Mike Pompeo
Preceded by	Heather Nauert
Succeeded by	Ned Price
Personal details
Born	Morgan Deann Ortagus (1982-07-10) July 10, 1982 Auburndale, Florida, U.S.
Died	2020
Resting place	2020
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Jonathan Weinberger ​ (m. 2013)​
Children	Adina (daughter)
Parent	2020
Education	Florida Southern College (BS) Johns Hopkins University (MA, MBA)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	2014–present
Unit	U.S. Navy Reserve

Morgan Deann Ortagus (born July 10, 1982) is an American government official, financial analyst, and political advisor who served as spokesperson for the United States Department of State from 2019 to 2021. She previously held several government positions including Deputy Treasury Attaché and Intelligence Analyst at the United States Department of the Treasury and Public Affairs Officer at USAID. Ortagus worked as national security contributor at Fox News prior to her appointment as State Department spokesperson. She is also an officer in the United States Navy Reserve.

During her time at the State Department, she worked closely with the White House on the Abraham Accords that brought peace deals between Israel and UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan. She was very critical of Iran and China, particularly over the Chinese Communist Party's efforts to shift blame to the United States relating to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Early life

Ortagus was born in Auburndale, Florida to Ronald E. and Denise C. Ortagus. Her father owned a cleanup and restoration company and her mother was an office manager. She grew up in Florida and won the Miss Florida Citrus title in 2003. Ortagus volunteered with Students Against Destruction Decision and Mothers Against Drunk Driving after her mentor was killed by a drunk driver in 1995.

Education

In 2005, Ortagus was a first-generation college student and graduated from Florida Southern College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science. She original expressed interest in music, but switched her major to political science after watching the September 11 terrorist attacks. In 2013, Ortagus graduated from Johns Hopkins University (JHU) with a Master degree; Master of Business Administration from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and in 2009 Master of Arts in Government from JHU. Ortagus's research at JHU included work on counterinsurgency.

Career

Ortagus speaks in Germany in 2019

Political campaigns

In 2006, Ortagus worked as press secretary on former Deputy National Security Advisor K. T. McFarland's Senate campaign. Prior to that she had been a campaign staffer for Florida Republican congressman Adam Putnam.

In 2016, Ortagus was a volunteer on Jeb Bush's presidential campaign.

United States Agency for International Development

From 2007 to 2008, Ortagus was a public affairs officer at United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the George W. Bush administration, spending several months in Baghdad, Iraq. In 2007, she attended a Hanukkah ceremony in Saddam Hussein's former palace in Baghdad. This was Ortagus's first government service.

United States Department of the Treasury

In 2008, Ortagus joined the U.S. Treasury Department, working as an Intelligence Analyst within the Treasury's Office of Intelligence and Analysis covering North Africa and Middle East regions.

In 2010, Ortagus served as Deputy Treasury Attaché under the Obama administration based at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia when the Arab Spring was breaking out within the region. As Deputy Treasury Attaché, Ortagus worked on countering illicit financial flows and was the principal liaison from the U.S. Treasury to the banking sector in Saudi Arabia. She returned to the United States in 2011. In 2020, she called the development of women's rights to drive and dress more freely in Saudi Arabia since 2010 "an encouraging sign".

Private sector

After returning to the United States, Ortagus left the government and joined the private sector, first as global relationship manager at Standard Chartered Bank working with clients from Asia, the Middle East and Africa and then in 2016 as executive director at Ernst & Young (EY), where she helped found EY's Geostrategic Business Group working on geopolitical risk analysis for investors.

Ortagus worked as national security contributor and Republican strategist at the Fox News Channel, appearing on Fox & Friends, Outnumbered, The Five and Mornings with Maria on the Fox Business Network.

Ortagus and Samantha Vinograd co-founded GO Advisors, a geopolitical risk and policy advisory firm that focused on bridging divides between Wall Street and Silicon Valley with the White House and Treasury Department.

Ortagus was on the National Board of Directors of Maverick PAC as National Co-Chair. The organization's co-founder said that Ortagus "turned the organization really into a new frontier". She was also a member of the CNAS Council and Future of Sanctions Task Force, a member of the Institute for the Study of War's Advancement Committee, a board member to the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, a board member to the Friends of the American University of Afghanistan, and an Advisor to Concordia where she contributed to the strategic direction and development of the organization's foreign and defense policy programming.

United States Department of State

Ortagus with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on July 30, 2019

Ortagus returned to government in 2019 after being appointed Spokesperson for the U.S. State Department succeeding Heather Nauert. Ortagus was described as being a bridge between the establishment and more conservative wings of the Republican foreign policy communities and was said to be friends with Ivanka Trump. She was sworn in as spokesperson on April 3, 2019 and served until the end of the Trump Administration, going on maternity leave in November 2020. During her tenure as Spokesperson, she traveled with Secretary Pompeo on most foreign travel. She concurrently served as an active U.S. Naval Reserve Officer.

Issues and Views

China

In July 2020, Ortagus said that blame rested with both political parties "for almost 40 years for not seeing the Chinese Communist Party for who they really are," and stressed the need for American citizens to not trust Chinese social media and technology companies that seek to access private data of U.S. citizens. She welcomed moves by U.S. social media companies to not allow the Chinese government to access their data. In August 2019, Ortagus called the Chinese government a "thuggish regime" for harassing a Hong Kong-based American diplomat. She has condemned the Chinese government's treatment of workers in Xinjiang, China as well as their detention and indoctrination of Uyghur and other religious and ethnic minorities, and called on the CCP to end the use of forced labor. In May 2020, Ortagus said that China was "breaking its word 27 years early" regarding its imposition of a new national security law in Hong Kong and was "taking over the largest financial hub in Asia".

Iran

After the U.S. killing of Qassem Soleimani in January 2021, Ortagus said that "no one was affected by the brutality and the terrorism of Qassem Soleimani more than the Iranian people themselves," and that the United States had "exercised the maximum restraint possible despite repeated provocations and attacks from the regime and through their proxies. And finally enough was enough." She accused Iran of using its proxies to "foment terror throughout the region" and warned that if Iran targeted U.S. diplomats or soldiers that the U.S. Government would "do everything within the law to defend ourselves and defend American interests". Ortagus called on Iran to allow the United States to participate in the investigation of the Iranian shootdown of PS752 in January 2021.

In July 2020, Ortagus condemned the Iranian judiciary for its persistent violation of human rights, including their role in the death of journalist Zahra Kazemi, and for the Death Commissions that killed thousands of political prisons in the 1980s. She repeatedly tweeted in support of Iranian dissidents and protestors, and said that "the whole world should stand behind the innocent Iranians that are being persecuted by their own government."

Israel and Middle East Peace Agreements

Ortagus defended Israel against Iranian threats after the U.S. killing of Qassem Soleimani, saying "there is no country that Iran threatens more on a routine basis through their vile and hateful and racist rhetoric than the state of Israel." She also pledged to work together with Israel to protect mutual security interests. In 2020, she encouraged Israel to more closely scrutinize foreign investments from China, saying "we do not believe decisions that would make Israel beholden to the Chinese Communist Party is what’s best for Israel.".

Secretary Pompeo and Ortagus at a signing ceremony in Doha, Qatar

Ortagus was present for the September 2021 phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bahraini King Al Khalifa. After the signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel, UAE, and Bahrain, Ortagus said "Peace for Israel, one of our strongest allies in the world, is important for American national security, because we believe in a strong sovereign state of Israel...Anytime we can bring our friends and allies together, it is positive for the US.". She blamed Palestinian leadership for failing to negotiate with Israel and for their economic malaise. She said she was a close friend of U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, as well as the former Special Advisor to President Trump Jared Kushner, and Assistant to the President Avi Berkowitz.

Russia

In August 2019, Ortagus called on the Russian Federation to use deconfliction channels to prevent escalation around the border of the Russian-occupied Georgian region of South Ossetia. In May 2020, she blamed Russian interference in Syria, Libya, and Yemen for exacerbating humanitarian crises and causing the deaths of civilians. In July 2020, Ortagus stated that the United States was "troubled by reports of Russian government efforts to manipulate the result of the recent votes on constitutional amendments, including reports of voter coercion, pressure on opponents of the amendments, and restrictions of independent observers of the vote," and that the United States was concerned with an amendment that would potentially allow President Putin to remain in office until 2036."

Paid Parental Leave

Ortagus called the legislation that secured 12 weeks of paid parental leave for the federal workforce a "monumental achievement" that would provide peace of mind to thousands of working families, and cited Ivanka Trump's bipartisan efforts as key to passage of the legislation in the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act.

Other

In June 2019, Ortagus said the United States "view Canada’s claim that the waters of the Northwest Passage are internal waters of Canada as inconsistent with international law."

In October 2020, Ortagus said that the United States had expressed its strong opposition to the Government of Turkey's acquisition of the Russian S-400 system, and that the "United States has been clear on our expectation that the S-400 system should not be operationalized."

Personal life

Ortagus has been married to Jonathan Weinberger since 2013. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ortagus' neighbor, presided over their wedding. This is her second marriage. Ortagus has a daughter, Adina, born in 2020. Ortagus converted to Judiasm after exploring the religion while living in Baghdad.

Weinberger served as White House associate general counsel and executive secretary on Trade from 2008 to 2012 and as executive secretary at the U.S. Treasury Department from 2003 to 2008.

External links

• Ortagus, Morgan: Biography. U.S. State Department.
• Appearances on C-SPAN