Morgan Deann Ortagus (born July 10, 1982) is a policy and national security analyst based out of New York City who is well known as Fox News Contributor. Ortagus is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of GO Advisors and a United States Navy Reserve Officer. On March 28, 2019, three NBC News sources told NBC that Ortagus had been selected as the next Spokesperson for the United States Department of State. ^[1]

Morgan Ortagus is originally from Auburndale, Florida. She is the daughter of Denise C. Ortagus and Ronald E. Ortagus. Her father owns two Florida franchise locations of ServiceMasters, a cleanup and restoration company while her mother is the office manager for the business.

Growing up, Morgan Ortagus competed in beauty pageants so that she could win scholarships to help pay for her college tuition. She came third runner up in the Miss Florida beauty pageant winning a $3,000 scholarship. She previously won the Miss Orange Blossom, Miss Florida Citrus pageants, Miss Auburndale, and Miss Teen Auburndale pageants.

Morgan Ortagus began volunteering with organizations like Students Against Destructive Decisions and Mothers Against Drunk Driving at the age of 13 after her pageant mentor, Malina Price-Bos of Auburndale, was killed by a drunk driver.

Morgan Ortagus is a graduate of Florida Southern College, graduating cum laude with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science. In May 2013, she graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a dual Masters of Business Administration /Masters of Arts in Government. She also earned an honors thesis from Johns Hopkins University for her research on counterinsurgency.

On March 29, 2019, three NBC News sources told NBC that Ortagus has been selected as the next Spokesperson for the United States Department of State. Ortagus will replace Heather Nauert, a former Fox News anchor who had been announced as President Donald Trump's pick for U.N. ambassador but later withdrew herself from consideration. Ortagus is currently the co-founder and Managing Director of GO Advisors. She also serves as the United States Navy Reserve Officer. ^[1] Morgan Ortagus previously worked at Ernst and Young as a Global Executive Director. She then launched EY's geopolitical initiative, the Geostrategic Business Group, where she serves as the group’s External Director. Ortagus is also currently a United States Navy Reserve Officer.

Morgan Ortagus frequently appears on Fox News and Fox Business as a contributor or guest host, lending her national security and policy experience. She has appeared on Fox News and Fox Business shows including Outnumbered, Fox and Friends First, Bulls & Bears, The Greg Gutfeld Show, Fox News Specialists, Fox and Friends, Cashin' In, Making Money With Charles Payne, Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, Cavuto on Business, and Lou Dobbs Tonight.

Morgan Ortagus is a Johns Hopkins University Leadership Fellow; a member of the Center for a New American Security Council and Future of Sanctions Task Force; a member of the Institute for the Study of War’s Advancement Committee; a member of the Women’s Democracy Network Advisory Council for the International Republican Institute; the National Co-Chair of Maverick PAC; a board member to the Elizabeth Dole Foundation; and a board member to the Friends of the American University of Afghanistan. Additionally, Ms. Ortagus serves as an Advisor to Concordia, where she contributes to the strategic direction and development of the organization’s diplomacy and national security programming.

Previously, Morgan Ortagus was a Global Relationship Manager at Standard Chartered Bank in the Public Sector Team covering clients in the Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

In 2010, Morgan Ortagus was assigned to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as the Deputy United States Treasury Attaché to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ortagus was focused on working with the Saudi Arabian government to curb the illicit financial flows to and from the Saudi Arabia. Ortagus was the principal liaison from the U.S. Treasury to the banking sector in Saudi Arabia.

From 2008 to 2010, Morgan Ortagus was an intelligence analyst at the United States Treasury in the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, primarily covering the Middle East and North Africa. She worked to publicly designate individual terrorists on the United Nations 1267 list.

Morgan Ortagus began her government service as a public affairs officer at the United States Agency for International Development, where in 2007 she spent several months in Baghdad, Iraq.

In 2006, Morgan Ortagus worked as a press secretary for K. T. McFarland, who was a United States Senate candidate at the time.

On Saturday, May 11, 2013, Morgan Ortagus married her husband Jonathan Ross Weinberger. They were married by Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg in her chambers at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.

In the evening, Rabbi Kenneth B. Block led a Jewish wedding ceremony at the Four Seasons Hotel, Washington, D.C.

Morgan Ortagus' previous marriage ended in divorce.