Sebastian Gorka’s exit from the White House is a welcome development. It’s a disgrace that Gorka, an extreme-right ideologue with documented ties to European neo-Nazi organizations and a long history of Islamophobic writings, ever served the US government in any capacity.

Gorka’s removal comes in the wake of months of determined advocacy by many activists and organizations working in concert to oppose hatred and extremism in the White House. Now that Gorka has followed Steve Bannon out the door, J Street continues to call for the removal of Senior Adviser Stephen Miller, along with any other officials who sympathize or are affiliated with white supremacists. Every day that these officials remain in the White House is an affront to our country’s core values and to the millions of Americans who have been targeted by hate.  

Ultimately, however, the White House’s tolerance of and support for bigotry starts at the top. With Friday’s unprecedented pardon of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the president demonstrated once again that he stands on the side of those who attack and discriminate against our nation’s most vulnerable minorities. No official or adviser can shoulder the blame for the president’s shameful conduct in this matter, in the wake of Charlottesville, and on so many other important questions of democracy, equality and basic decency.