Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East and point man in the Gaza ceasefire talks, is preparing to leave his post at the end of the year, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.

Witkoff, a longtime Trump ally and real estate executive, has served as a Special Government Employee — a temporary designation typically capped at 130 days but subject to renewals. While his role has already stretched past that window, officials say he is planning an exit, particularly with a potential breakthrough on Gaza now in sight.

Trump announced Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted the latest U.S. proposal for a ceasefire, with mediators now awaiting Hamas’s official response. If a deal is sealed, Witkoff would likely “bow out gracefully,” the official said.

People inside Witkoff’s office are already preparing for the transition, scoping out “the next thing” as the envoy eyes the door, the official added.

Witkoff’s pending departure would mark the latest shift in Trump’s foreign policy team, which has seen a string of unconventional envoys tapped for high-stakes roles. His appointment raised eyebrows at the outset — a real estate mogul navigating one of the world’s most combustible conflicts — but Trump has leaned on personal loyalists rather than career diplomats in much of his Middle East strategy.

Whether Witkoff leaves on a high note hinges on the Gaza talks, which remain fragile. But if the ceasefire sticks, he could walk away with something rare in this conflict: a diplomatic win.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)