Gavin Wax, a senior State Department political appointee, was placed on administrative leave after a dispute over meetings with Serbian politicians, only to have the decision reversed within days following an intervention by one of Donald Trump’s trusted advisers, according to people familiar with the episode.
Wax, 33, was called to a meeting with human resources at 5pm on July 20 and told that he would no longer be working at the department. Two diplomatic security agents had reportedly been stationed outside his office earlier that afternoon to ensure he attended.
But by the following Monday, Wax was back at his desk running the public diplomacy office.
Five senior Trump administration sources said Wax made a last-ditch telephone call to Boris Epshteyn, a personal senior counsellor to the president. Epshteyn allegedly took the matter to Trump, prompting the decision to remove Wax to be overturned within a week.
The original plan had been approved by the White House Office of Presidential Personnel and senior State Department officials at the request of Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau. The White House liaison at the department was also said to have helped coordinate it.
The reversal has reportedly angered Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has made clear that Wax cannot remain at the State Department, according to three senior sources familiar with his reaction.
A State Department spokesman, Dylan Johnson, rejected the account, saying: “This is false and never happened.” The department also denied that diplomatic security agents had been posted outside Wax’s office.
The dispute over meetings with Serbian politicians
The immediate trigger was reportedly a lunch Wax hosted on July 17 in the executive dining room at the department’s Washington headquarters.
The guests included Serbian right-wing politicians viewed by some officials as sympathetic to the Kremlin. Career diplomats had allegedly advised against the gathering, prompting anger in the department’s Europe bureau and questions from Landau’s office about whether the visitors could be excluded from the building.
Wax was also accused of telling the Serbian guests that Landau had approved the meetings. When Landau learned that his name had allegedly been used in that way, sources said, he was furious.
Wax’s superior, Under Secretary Sarah Rogers, was informed three days later that her chief of staff would be leaving by the end of the day. She reportedly objected but was told that the decision was not hers to make.
Wax is currently on paternity leave following the birth of his second child. Once Rogers is confirmed by the Senate to lead the US Agency for Global Media, he is expected to move with her to the agency.
The transfer is being presented within the administration as a promotion. Sources, however, said it reflected efforts by Rubio and other senior officials to remove Wax from the State Department.
“Gavin Wax will be an incredible addition to the United States Agency for Global Media and will continue to successfully execute President Trump’s America First policies,” a White House official said.
The episode has intensified concerns among State Department staff that political influence and access to the president can override departmental decisions. One source said the reversal sent a message that officials with a direct line to Trump were effectively beyond reach.
Wax’s influence has been linked to his long-standing ties to Trump’s political circle. He led the New York Young Republican Club, which became the first Young Republicans chapter to endorse Trump’s 2024 campaign, and has maintained close relationships with senior figures around the president.
He has also faced allegations over his conduct and political activities. In a complaint revealed in July, Wax was accused of shoving and threatening an aide to Greenland envoy Jeff Landry in a Truman Building lift. The State Department’s Office of Special Investigations reviewed the complaint, although it is unclear whether that inquiry remains active.
Last year, Wax was also accused of involvement in the fallout from the Young Republican group-chat scandal, after racist and anti-Semitic messages were published. He denied leaking material and faced no disciplinary action.
