Trump expected to appoint Eric Trager as Middle East director for National Security Council

President-elect Trump is expected to announce Eric Trager as Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa on the National Security Council, a congressional aide told The Hill.

Trager has served as a professional staff member for Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee since 2018. An expert in Egyptian politics, he also was the Esther K. Wagner Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and published a book on the rise and fall of the Muslim Brotherhood during the Arab Spring.

Trager is also an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan, and the University of California.

He’ll fill the position at the NSC currently held by Brett McGurk, a senior member of President Biden’s Middle East staff who has participated in negotiations surrounding the release of hostages kidnapped from Israel by Hamas; a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon; and served as a key interlocutor with Saudi Arabia.

Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance Transition Spokeswoman, did not confirm the appointment when reached for comment.

“President-Elect Trump has made brilliant decisions on who will serve in his second Administration at lightning pace. Remaining decisions will continue to be announced by him when they are made," she said.

The appointment would add to Trump’s growing list of Middle East advisors dealing with a region rocked by a hot war for over a year.

This includes Trump’s selection of his close friend and real estate investor Steve Witkoff as Special Envoy for Middle East Peace; his daughter’s father-in-law, Masoud Boulous, as senior advisor on Arab and Middle East affairs; and former State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus as deputy special envoy for Middle East peace.

Trump warned Tuesday that “all hell” will break out in the Middle East if Hamas does not release hostages it kidnapped from Israel before his inauguration on Jan. 20, and has dispatched Witkoff to ceasefire talks in Qatar alongside efforts by the Biden administration and Israeli officials.

Other crises Trump’s team is likely to confront include maintenance of a tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon; dealing with a new, caretaker government in Syria headed by a U.S.-designated terrorist group; the fate of 2,000 American troops stationed in northeast Syria supporting Kurdish forces preventing a resurge of ISIS; Iran’s ongoing push to advance its nuclear program; and efforts to broker ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Topics

Pity the middle-sized nations of the world

Small countries have the best outcomes, while the few giants shape the globe
Financial Times - 19h
Plans in motion for Gaza's future after war in the Middle East ends

The United Arab Emirates, the U.S., Israel and other nations are in discussion for a joint, temporary administration of the Gaza Strip after the war ends, according to Reuters. CBS News foreign ...
CBS News - 1d
Middle East latest: Israel's military launches wave of raids across the occupied West Bank

The Israeli military has launched a wave of raids across the occupied West Bank, killing at least three Palestinians it said were militants
ABC News - 1d
Middle East crisis live: Israeli forces ‘fired on World Food Programme convoy in Gaza’

Statement from UN agency ‘strongly condemns horrifying incident’ on Sunday which it says risked lives of staff. ‘This is basically a civil war’: West Bank in fear after shooting of journalist ...
The Guardian - 2d
How increased Israeli military activity is changing the Middle East

The Biden administration notified Congress of a proposed $8 billion arms sale to Israel as the U.S. government maintains its strong support for its ally in the Middle East. While the Israeli ...
CBS News - 4d
Israel ramps up strikes across Middle East

The war in Gaza shows no signs of slowing down in 2025. Israel turned up the pressure in one of the deadliest weeks of fighting, with nearly 150 people killed. Holly Williams has the latest ...
CBS News - 5d
Trump announces Middle East appointment: Hopefully she's learned her lesson

President-elect Trump tapped Morgan Ortagus, a former State Department spokesperson, to serve as deputy special presidential envoy for Middle East peace in his next administration. Trump noted in ...
The Hill - 5d
2025 will test the ageing warhorses of the Middle East

There are few grounds for optimism over the Palestinian question but the west can help Syria get back on its feet
Financial Times - 5d
Middle East crisis live: at least 37 killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza including in al-Mawasi ‘safe zone’

Airstrike hit tent encampment sheltering displaced families and also killed director-general of Gaza’s police department. Lebanon ’s National News Agency reports that Israeli forces fired two ...
The Guardian - 6d