Will Hurd, former GOP lawmaker with tech expertise, announces White House bid
Former Texas Congressman Will Hurd speaks to guests at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition Spring Kick-Off on April 22, 2023 in Clive, Iowa. Hurd announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election that same morning. Scott Olson/Getty Images
The three-term Texas congressman was the lead sponsor of the law that created the Technology Modernization Fund.
Will Hurd, the former three-term Republican congressman from Texas, announced his candidacy for the White House on Thursday.
A 45-year-old Black Republican who won three close elections in a politically divided, majority Hispanic district, Hurd is pitching himself as a moderate, electable, anti-Trump Republican while touting his national security bonafides as a former undercover CIA officer. He's been blunt in recent days in articulating his anger at former President Donald Trump for allegedly absconding with classified documents belonging to the U.S. government and allegedly misleading investigators trying to recover the material.
"The documents that Donald Trump had are not Republican secrets or Democrat secrets. They are American secrets. They're secret because lives are at stake — American lives abroad and at home," Hurd tweeted on Monday.
"You can't be afraid of Donald Trump. Too many candidates in this race are afraid of Donald Trump, but we also have to articulate a different vision," Hurd said in an interview on "CBS Mornings" on Thursday announcing his run.
Tech policy chops
Hurd made a name for himself in tech policy circles soon after his election to Congress in 2014 because of his computer science degree and previous work for a cybersecurity vendor. He was an early leader on technology issues and, as a freshman, chaired the IT Subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee.
Hurd went on to sponsor the Modernizing Government Technology Act, the legislation that set up a central revolving fund of no-year money as a way to boost needed IT upgrades at federal agencies while also authorizing individual agencies to set up internal funds to support technology modernization.
He was also an early co-sponsor of the Internet of Things Cybersecurity Act, which finally passed into law after multiple attempts in 2020. The bill was one of the only successful efforts by Congress to leverage the purchasing power of the federal government to incentivize stronger cybersecurity on the part of technology vendors.
"I always say, ‘IT procurement is not a sexy topic,’” Hurd told Nextgov in a 2018 interview. “I don’t think anyone’s ever held a parade in honor of IT procurement. But it is something that could ultimately change the way the government operates. It’s the way that we’re going to ensure the federal government is spending its money wisely.”
Hurd characterized his bid as a "dark horse" candidacy in his announcement. He is part of a 12-person Republican field vying for a chance to unseat incumbent President Joe Biden.