Will Hurd
William Ballard Hurd (born August 19, 1977) is an American politician and former CIA clandestine officer who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 23rd congressional district from 2015 to 2021.
Not to be confused with Will Hurd (rugby union).
Will Hurd
Following a nine-year stint with the CIA, Hurd ran for Congress in 2010 and was defeated in a runoff primary. Hurd ran for Congress again in 2014 and was successful. The district stretched approximately 550 miles (890 km) from San Antonio to El Paso along the U.S.-Mexican border.[1][2] He was re-elected in 2016 and again in 2018, but did not seek re-election in 2020.
During his congressional tenure, Hurd became known for his expertise in technology and cybersecurity, as well as for his bipartisanship.
On June 22, 2023, Hurd announced that he was seeking the Republican nomination for president of the United States in the 2024 election.[3] He dropped out of the race on October 9, 2023, and endorsed Nikki Haley.[4]
Early life and education[edit]
Hurd was born on August 19, 1977, in San Antonio, Texas.[5] He is the son of Mary Alice Hurd and Robert Hurd. He has a brother, Chuck, and a sister, Elizabeth. His father is black and his mother is white.[6]
Hurd is a graduate of John Marshall High School in Leon Valley, Texas, and a graduate of Texas A&M University, where he was elected student body president. Hurd was student body president during the 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse.[7] He majored in computer science and minored in international relations.[8]
Intelligence career[edit]
Hurd worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for nine years, from 2000 to 2009. He was stationed primarily in Washington, D.C., but his tour of duty included being an operations officer in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.[8][9] He speaks Urdu,[10] the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan, where he worked undercover.[10] One of his roles at the CIA was briefing members of Congress, which is what made Hurd want to pursue politics.[11] He returned to Texas after his CIA service and worked as a partner with Crumpton Group LLC, a strategic advisory firm, and as a senior adviser with FusionX, a cybersecurity firm.[8]
Post-congressional career[edit]
Hurd became a Winter 2021 Resident Fellow at the Institute of Politics of the University of Chicago. There, Hurd leads a series of seminars.[91] In May 2021, Hurd was appointed to the board of directors for OpenAI.[92] In July 2023, Hurd announced that he had resigned from OpenAI's board of directors before his presidential campaign began in order to focus on politics.[93]
On March 29, 2022, Simon and Schuster published Hurd's first book, entitled American Reboot: An Idealist's Guide to Getting Big Things Done, a combination memoir and blueprint for the country's future. It received largely positive reviews.
On June 22, 2023, Hurd announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2024 United States presidential election.[94] At the time of his announcement, Hurd said he hoped his electoral record and willingness to criticize former president Donald Trump would distinguish him from other candidates.[48] He has said he will not support Trump if Trump is the eventual nominee, and said that he believes that the evidence in the indictments against Donald Trump points to Trump acting like a person who knows he is guilty.[49][95] Hurd also said he won't sign a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee; signing the pledge is required by the Republican National Committee to participate in the primary debate.[96] Despite fellow candidate Chris Christie also criticizing the pledge, but nonetheless willing to sign it in order to debate, Hurd said he won't "lie to get access to a microphone."[97] Hurd also said he would not sign a similar pledge required by the Republican Party of Florida to appear on the primary ballot.[98]
At a July 28, 2023 town-hall in New Hampshire, run in partnership by WMUR-TV and the University of New Hampshire, Hurd outlined his issues as:
Hurd has voiced support for designating a no-fly zone over Ukraine.[102] He has also stated Ukraine should be given all the "equipment and military they need in order to win the war immediately."[99]
At the Republican Party of Iowa's annual Lincoln Dinner (one of the state's most important Republican political events for candidates), a number of candidates gave speeches. Hurd's speech included a dig at former President Donald Trump, saying that Trump "is running to stay out of prison." In response Hurd was booed by attendees.[103] Trump responded by calling Hurd a "failed former Congressman" and his campaign for president "ridiculous" on Truth Social.[104] Hurd responded by calling Trump a "liar", "loser", and a "national security threat" on an interview with PBS.[105]
The New Republic called Hurd the Never Trump movement's "Last, Best Hope" claiming that he was the embodiment of the Republican Party's moderate wing. Instead of the "rigid and somewhat insulated stereotypical GOP congressman" Hurd is known for his flexibility on bipartisan issues and regular meetings with his constituents to know what issues affect them personally. Hurd has also voiced doubt about the loyalty of the Republican Party to Donald Trump, as most congressional Republicans only started to support him after he became the nominee in 2016.[106]
He did not qualify for the first Republican presidential debate, which was held on August 23, 2023.[107] Instead, he gave an interview with POLITICO live as the debate was taking place, giving his opinion on the events of the debate as they happened. During which he criticized Vivek Ramaswamy stating that: “Anybody who wants to kiss the butt of Vladimir Putin has no chance in a general election. Anybody who’s a 9/11 [skeptic], you know, talking about there’s some hoax or insider job, to me is just outrageous.” As well as being critical of all in attendance who stated they would still support Trump as candidate if he was convicted, and said up until that point that Nikki Haley was having a good night. He also reiterated his desire to create a no-fly-zone over Ukraine, and concluded that none of the candidates impressed him.[108]
On September 20, 2023, Hurd unveiled a detailed plan for how he would regulate AI if elected President, comparing AI to nuclear fusion, and proposing creating a branch of the executive to deal solely and directly on the issue of AI, and proposing strict regulations on civilian AI usage.[109][110]
On October 9, 2023, Hurd suspended his campaign for president and endorsed Haley for the nomination.[4]
Personal life[edit]
In 2017, Politico reported that he was dating Lynlie Wallace, the chief of staff to Texas State Representative Lyle Larson.[6] Hurd announced on social media that he and Wallace married on December 31, 2022.[111][112]
Hurd lives in the city of Helotes, Texas, a suburb of San Antonio.[113]