William Ballard Hurd, known as Will Hurd, is an American politician, former intelligence officer, author, and technology executive born on August 19, 1977, in San Antonio, Texas.
The son of Robert Hurd, who is Black, and Mary Alice Hurd, who is white, he grew up in an interracial family in San Antonio during a time when such unions still faced significant social barriers.
Hurd graduated from John Marshall High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science with a minor in international relations from Texas A&M University, where he served as student body president.
He is a Republican who represented Texas’s 23rd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2015 to 2021.
After leaving Congress, he worked in the private sector, including roles in investment banking and on the boards of technology and policy organizations, briefly sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 before withdrawing and endorsing Nikki Haley, and has remained active as a commentator, author of the book American Reboot, and executive focused on national security and artificial intelligence.
Siblings
Will has two siblings, Chuck Hurd and his sister Elizabeth Hurd, also known as Liz.
During his time in Congress, Hurd spoke of remaining close to his siblings and parents, all of whom lived in the district he represented.
Family photographs and Hurd’s own writings portray a supportive household shaped by the challenges and strengths of an interracial family in Texas.
Career
After graduating from Texas A&M in 2000, Hurd joined the Central Intelligence Agency, where he served for nearly a decade as an undercover operations officer.
His work took him primarily to Washington, D.C., as well as to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, and he became fluent in Urdu while conducting intelligence operations that addressed terrorism, espionage, and nuclear proliferation.
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He left the CIA in 2009 and returned to Texas, working as a senior adviser at the cybersecurity firm FusionX and as a partner at the strategic advisory firm Crumpton Group, helping businesses navigate international markets and cyber threats.
Hurd first ran for Congress in 2010 but lost in a Republican primary runoff.
He succeeded on his second attempt in 2014, winning Texas’s 23rd congressional district, a vast border district spanning from San Antonio toward El Paso.
He was reelected in 2016 and 2018 before choosing not to seek another term in 2020.
In the House he served on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where he chaired the Information Technology Subcommittee, the Homeland Security Committee as vice chair of the Border and Maritime Security Subcommittee, and later the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
After Congress, Hurd served as a managing director at the investment bank Allen & Company, joined the board of OpenAI, became a trustee of the German Marshall Fund, and later took on the role of chief strategy officer at the defense technology company CHAOS Industries while continuing board service with organizations focused on technology and foreign policy.
In 2023 he launched a short-lived campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Accolades
During his time in Congress, Hurd earned recognition for legislative productivity and bipartisanship, with observers noting that he saw more bills signed into law in three terms than many members achieve over much longer careers, including work that helped establish a national strategy for artificial intelligence.
Texas Monthly and Politico Magazine described him as “the future of the GOP” for prioritizing policy over partisanship, while The Daily Dot called him “the most interesting man in Congress” in light of his CIA background and approach to issues.
In 2018, Allegheny College awarded him and Democratic Congressman Beto O’Rourke its Prize for Civility in Public Life for a widely noted bipartisan road trip the two undertook from Texas to Washington, D.C., during which they livestreamed discussions on policy differences.
Hurd was also recognized as the only Black Republican serving in the House during part of his tenure and received praise from figures such as former CIA Director and Defense Secretary Robert Gates for his character and leadership.
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