Sebastian Gorka is out. He was quietly one of the more controversial figures to roam free in the White House, a bastion of regular irresponsibility and problematic decision-making. There is some confusion as to whether or not he left on his own terms or whether the administration fired the national security aide. The method ultimately does not matter as much as the news of his demise in the government, though.
Goodbye Gorka
On Friday, the news broke that Gorka reportedly tendered his resignation. Later in the day, however, the White House claimed that he didn't resign, but was no longer part of the administration, implying that he was fired.
In a letter published in The Federalist, Gorka claimed that he was actually best suited to help the current administration by playing a role outside of it, echoing something ally Steve Bannon said recently after his own departure from the administration.
What exactly that means is unclear, but most departed figures from the White House end up in the media, in one capacity or another. Bannon, for instance, went back to Breitbart within hours of his dismissal from the administration. That's important in the case of Gorka, who was also a senior leader at the website before moving into a government role. The nationalist faction appears to be losing ground in the eyes of Donald Trump (or someone whispering in his ear), but they can still effectively play a part by propagating alt-right news.
Gorka's problems
Outside of his ties with Bannon, Gorka had a variety of problems that emerged almost as soon as he entered the White House. For starters, it was never real clear if he was qualified to be a talking head and aide on the issue of terrorism, which was considered his specialty during his time with the administration.
He was also seen as being hostile towards the Muslim faith - unsurprising considering his nationalism ties, but unhelpful in the current political climate.
His biggest issue, however, is slightly related to an issue that is dogging the White House seven months into Trump's presidency: foreign ties. For Gorka, it wasn't Russia - it was Hungary.
His ties to the far-right in that country has manifested in endorsing racist factions in the country, writing op-eds for an anti-Semitic newspaper, and supposedly swearing his allegiance to a problematic group in the nation. Those issues didn't stop him from getting his job, but now he is without one as an indirect result.
