REWIND: Discussing Legislative Effectiveness with Representative Will Hurd

Former Representative Will Hurd announced today that he was running for the Republican nomination for president. He served as the U.S. representative for Texas’s 23rd congressional district from 2015 to 2021, and was identified by the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) as being one of the top 10 most effective Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House during his first term in Congress, as well as being the third most effective freshman lawmaker within his class.

Back in September, CEL Co-Directors Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman sat down with Representative Hurd to discuss his time in Congress as part of our “Conversations with Effective Lawmakers” Series. Among the topics discussed were the struggles that he encountered during his first year in office as he sought to figure out how to become an effective lawmaker; the challenges of representing a geographically large, politically split district; the importance of security for members and their staff; the advice he took – and ignored – while in office that helped him in advancing his goals; how his previous career as a CIA officer served him as a legislator; and how he dealt with a wide range of legislative matters—including a specific bill involving cats and dogs (!).

See the full interview below, and go here for highlights and transcripts.