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Katharine Gorka
Gorka in 2024
Born
Katharine Fairfax Cornell

Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BA)
London School of Economics (MSc)
Occupation(s)National security analyst, former policy adviser in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Political partyRepublican
SpouseSebastian Gorka (m. 1996)
Children2
Websitekatiegorka.org

Katharine "Katie" Cornell Gorka is an American national security analyst who served as a senior policy adviser in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the Trump administration from 2017, and press secretary of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for two months in 2019. She is married to Sebastian Gorka, former deputy assistant to the president.[1]

Background

Gorka was born in Boston and grew up in different places on the East Coast.[2] She attended the Hotchkiss School, an elite boarding school in Connecticut,[3] and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. in comparative literature, and an M.Sc. in international political economy from the London School of Economics.[2][4] She lived in Budapest, Hungary for twelve years after the fall of communism,[2] and married Sebastian Gorka in Sopron in 1996,[4] with whom she had two children.[2] She founded the now-defunct Council on Global Security think-tank, and the Threat Knowledge Group consulting firm, which provided counter-terrorism training for the U.S. government and military.[5][6] She has also been a contributor to Breitbart News, and a co-editor of the book Fighting the Ideological War: Winning Strategies from Communism to Islamism with Patrick Sookhdeo.[5][6]

Views

Prior to her appointment in the Trump administration, Gorka has advocated for an "ideological war" against Islamists, and supported legislation sponsored by Rep. Michele Bachmann to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, which would extend to United States Muslim organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).[5] She has claimed that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is the "headquarters" of the enemy of the West,[5] and that the Obama administration was "supporting Islamist groups abroad" and "allowing Islamists to dictate national security policy."[7] She has also proposed "shutting down the radical mosques," and suggested that Al Jazeera should not be allowed to broadcast in the United States.[8] She has been described as a part of the counter-jihad movement.[9]

Trump administration

Gorka was named to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) transition team by Donald Trump in November 2016. It was noted that she had previously complained extensively that the DHS trained its agents that Islam is a "religion of peace", which she claimed to be false.[6] In May 2017, Gorka was named an adviser to the DHS's policy office.[10] She then ended funding from the Countering Violent Extremism Task Force (CVE) to Life After Hate, a group that works to de-radicalize white supremacists, as well as to the Muslim Public Affairs Council.[11] Watchdog groups requested records during her time as a senior adviser at DHS, with the Democracy Forward group suing to get documents.[12]

It was later alleged by HuffPost that Gorka had wanted, apparently without success, to redirect the focus of the CVE against antifa during her time in the DHS.[7]

She became press secretary of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in June 2019, but left her position in August in order to spend more time with her family.[13][14] Gorka did not appear frequently in public during her time at the CBP, leading the Democracy Forward group to sue the DHS to find out "what Gorka is doing" there.[15]

Later activities

Gorka served as Director for Civil Society at the Heritage Foundation from 2020 to 2022.[16] She was elected to the McLean, Virginia Community Center Board in 2023, where she had lived since 2008, after having unsuccessfully tried to become elected the previous year amid controversy over a Drag Queen Story Hour.[17] She has also been involved with the activist group Moms for Liberty.[18]

She was elected chair of the Fairfax County Republican Party in 2024.[19][20]

Bibliography

  • Gorka, Katharine C. (2013). Cornell Iron Works: The History of an Enduring Family Business. ISBN 978-0615793498.
  • Gorka, Katharine Cornell; Gonzalez, Mike (2024). NextGen Marxism: What It Is and How to Combat It. Encounter. ISBN 978-1641773539.

References

  1. ^ Stokols, Eli; Bender, Bryan; Crowley, Michael (February 13, 2017). "The husband-and-wife team driving Trump's national security policy". Politico.
  2. ^ a b c d "Katharine Cornell Gorka". The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  3. ^ Prengel, Kate (April 5, 2019). "Katie Gorka: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com.
  4. ^ a b "WEDDINGS;Katharine Cornell, Sebestyen Gorka". The New York Times. July 7, 1996.
  5. ^ a b c d "Factsheet: Katharine Gorka". Bridge Initiative. Georgetown University. July 29, 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Emmons, Alex; Fang, Lee (November 30, 2016). "Anti-Muslim Activist Katharine Gorka Named to Homeland Security Transition Team". The Intercept.
  7. ^ a b Schulberg, Jessica (April 5, 2019). "Trump Homeland Security Official Suggested Antifascists Were 'The Actual Threats'". HuffPost.
  8. ^ Emmons, Alex (September 14, 2020). "At Homeland Security, Anti-Muslim Activist Katharine Gorka Maintained Ties With Islamophobes". The Intercept.
  9. ^ Beauchamp, Zack (February 13, 2017). "Trump's counter-jihad". Vox.
  10. ^ Emmons, Alex (May 23, 2017). "Homeland Security Hires Anti-Islam Activist Katharine Gorka as Trump Makes Overtures to Muslim States". The Intercept.
  11. ^ Schulberg, Jessica (August 15, 2017). "Controversial Trump Aide Katharine Gorka Helped End Funding For Group That Fights White Supremacy". HuffPost.
  12. ^ Sands, Geneva (June 19, 2019). "First on CNN: Controversial political appointee expected to be named Customs and Border Protection press secretary". CNN.
  13. ^ Hauslohner, Abigail (August 20, 2019). "Customs and Border Protection press secretary Katharine Gorka departs after two months on the job". The Washington Post.
  14. ^ Sands, Geneva (August 20, 2019). "Katharine Gorka steps down as Customs and Border Protection press secretary after two months". CNN.
  15. ^ Rodrigo, Chris Mills (August 20, 2019). "Customs and Border Protection press secretary exits after two months at job". The Hill.
  16. ^ ""Happy Women" Podcast with Jennifer Horn and Katie Gorka Launches on the Salem Podcast Network". Business Wire. April 22, 2024.
  17. ^ VerHelst, Megan (May 25, 2023). "Former Trump Official Elected To McLean Community Center Board". Patch.
  18. ^ Shepherd, Brittany (July 1, 2023). "Trump, DeSantis and more address Moms for Liberty conference". ABC News.
  19. ^ Trompeter, Brian (April 15, 2024). "Q&A: New Fairfax GOP chair looks to cut into Democratic strength". Gazette Leader.
  20. ^ "People and Places - Week of April 12, 2024". Fairfax County Times. April 12, 2024.
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