SPLC Action Fund Statement on Sebastian Gorka’s nomination to the National Security Education Board

WASHINGTON — SPLC Action Fund President and Chief Executive Officer Margaret Huang issued the statement below after the White House announced the appointment of Sebastian Gorka — a right-wing media figure who injects Islamophobia into national security issues — to the National Security Education Board, which provides oversight to the National Security Education Program (NSEP).

“By placing Sebastian Gorka in a position that influences national security interests, President Trump has abandoned all public pretense and decided to openly embrace extremist views. 

“Someone like Gorka has absolutely no place in the federal government, even less as a member of the NSEB. His ties to anti-Muslim extremists have been well documented. He spoke to the David Horowitz Freedom Center’s Restoration Weekend in 2016, a hate group that gives anti-Muslim voices a platform to project hate and misinformation, and is a regular guest on anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist Frank Gaffney’s radio program.

“The NSEP is supposed to help provide a broad pool of civil servants who understand different cultures and speak critically needed languages to work for the United States government. By placing someone like Gorka on the board that oversees this critical program, President Trump is sanctioning discrimination and exclusion of individuals who hold these skills that are gravely needed.”