Ortagus campaign appears to have removed fired State Dept. staffer as host of D.C. fundraiser

Despite touting Donald Trump's endorsement of her congressional bid, Republican candidate Morgan Ortagus was scheduled to hold a fundraiser in Washington, D.C. this week apparently cohosted by a former government official who was fired after calling the 45th president "unfit" for office.

However, it now appears the Ortagus campaign has removed Gabriel Noronha, who served in the Trump administration as a special adviser for Iran at the State Department, as a featured host of the fundraiser after the reception received press coverage.

Ortagus, who served as a State Department spokesperson in the Trump administration, announced her candidacy to represent Tennessee's 5th Congressional District last month. Trump endorsed her bid days before she officially launched her campaign.

The fundraiser, scheduled for Wednesday, will be held by Ortagus' campaign near Capitol Hill with a price tag of $250 to attend and $1,000 to be a cohost, according to multiple copies of the invitation seen by Just the News.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Republican Reps. Dan Crenshaw (Texas), Mike Gallagher (Wisc.), and Michael McCaul (Texas) will be special guests at the reception.

But for Trump supporters, the most striking person listed atop the original invitation might be Noronha, who was fired after castigating then-President Trump on Twitter in the wake of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 of last year.

"President Trump fomented an insurrectionist mob that attacked the Capitol today," Noronha wrote. "He continues to take every opportunity to obstruct the peaceful transfer of power. These actions threaten our democracy and our republic. Trump is entirely unfit to remain in office and needs to go."

Noronha added in a second tweet that all government officials must uphold the Constitution, apparently suggesting that Trump did not do so.

"All government officials swear to uphold and defend the constitution. That is where our loyalties must lie — not to any man or political party," Noronha tweeted. "@JoeBiden has won the election for president, and we must all work together to rebuild our economy and defend our nation."

The next day, Noronha was fired from his position.

According to CNN, the White House fired Noronha, who was notified of his termination in a letter from the State Department liaison to the White House. No explicit reason was given for his ouster.

The State Department reportedly didn't object to Noronha posting his opinion on his personal Twitter account. It's unclear who in the White House made the decision to fire him.

Other State Department officials publicly condemned the Jan. 6 Capitol riot but didn't blame Trump for causing it.

Last week, at least two media outlets reported on the Ortagus campaign's fundraiser and the inclusion of Noronha on its host committee after the invitations went out.

However, the Ortagus campaign told Just the News on Monday that Noronha is not a host of the fundraiser. When shown a copy of the invitation with Noronha's name listed on the host committee, a campaign representative said he's not listed on the final version. When asked whether he's no longer participating in the event or his name was removed, the representative didn't respond.

Noronha didn't respond to a request for comment.

Just the News also reached out to Trump's team for comment and has yet to hear back.

The fundraiser invitation includes the names of multiple Never Trumpers as hosts, such as Kerry Healy, a registered independent who didn't vote for Trump in 2016 and served as lieutenant governor of Massachusetts under then-Gov. Mitt Romney.

The point of contact for the event is Lisa Spies, a former staffer for Romney's 2012 presidential campaign who previously said Trump not only halted but also reversed progress for women.

It's unclear whether Ortagus, who has made Trump's endorsement a central feature of her campaign, was aware of these individuals' past anti-Trump comments or that they're featured figures in the fundraiser. 

Since launching her campaign, Ortagus has portrayed herself as the best candidate to pursue Trump's America First agenda. The controversy surrounding the fundraiser could interfere with that messaging. 

After last week's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), it's easy to understand why Ortagus is tying herself to the 45th president: Trump easily won CPAC's straw poll for the 2024 Republican presidential primary, with 97% of attendees saying they approve of the job he did as president.

She's battling criticism from within Tennessee's 5th District that's she's an out-of-state "transplant" with no ties to the area, and the fundraiser could feed into that narrative.

Ortagus moved to Nashville last year.

At least 11 people are now collecting qualifying petitions to be on the Republican primary ballot for Tennessee's 5th District. As of Friday, Ortagus had not begun collecting petitions, according to the Tennessee Star.