Trump Plans to Install His Book Publisher as Head of Personnel

Sergio Gor, an ally of President-elect Donald J. Trump and who has helped run the publishing company that produces his books, has been tapped to run the presidential personnel office in his administration, according to four people briefed on the matter.

The role sounds administrative but can wield power, particularly for a president who, in his first term in office and in the transition before his second one, is keenly focused on who fills what jobs and whether prospective staff meet his perception of loyalty.

Mr. Gor declined to comment. A spokesman for the Trump transition did not respond to an email seeking comment. The appointment was reported earlier by the website Semafor.

His appointment was heralded on social media by Donald Trump Jr., a close ally with whom Mr. Gor began the publishing company that produces the president-elect’s books, the least expensive of which sells for $74.99.

Putting Mr. Gor in the role had been under discussion for several days, according to three of the people briefed on the matter. There was an effort by some Trump associates to put Blake Masters, the former candidate for U.S. senator from Arizona, who is close to the venture capitalist Peter Thiel, into the personnel role, according to one of the people briefed. But Mr. Gor was the eventual choice of Mr. Trump.

Mr. Gor, who previously worked for Senator Rand Paul, co-founded Winning Team Publishing with Mr. Trump’s son after the elder Mr. Trump left the White House. Mr. Trump has published three books through the company, including one with a now-iconic image of a bloodied Mr. Trump pumping his fist after he was shot at an open-air rally in Butler, Pa., in an assassination attempt in July.