Former GOP Rep. Will Hurd talks Trump's hold over the Republican party, Biden's approach to Ukraine, and explains how America's immigration policy is a 'political bludgeon'

• Former Rep. Will Hurd remains outspoken about what he sees as roadblocks to congressional action.
• In his book, "American Reboot," he maps how to take on some of the most pressing issues in the US.

When then-Rep. Will Hurd in August 2019 announced that he would not run for reelection in 2020, the development was a jolt that knocked many people off balance.

As the only Black House Republican at the time, Hurd — who represented Texas' sprawling 23rd Congressional district from 2015 to 2021 and frequently reached across the aisle to pass legislation — embodied the future of the party.

A former undercover CIA officer whose political constituency included roughly 800 miles of the US-Mexico border, Hurd quickly became a respected voice on foreign policy, national security, and immigration matters upon entering the House. He firmly rejected the reflexive partisanship that has enveloped much of Congress in recent years.

"It goes back to ... both parties would rather use this as a political bludgeon rather than solve the problem," the former congressman said of immigration as he discussed his newly-released book, "American Reboot: An Idealist's Guide to Getting Big Things Done."

Hurd recently spoke with Insider about his time in Congress and the ongoing challenges facing the United States, including border security and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Questions and answers have been edited for brevity.

Insider's John L. Dorman: When you were in Congress, you spoke about your desire for a fiber-optic cable along the border, which would provide sensory tools in lieu of a wall championed by many of the most conservative elements of the GOP. Why do you think border issues have devolved into a debate about building a physical wall versus not having a wall?

Former congressman Will Hurd: If we take immigration and border security, they're interconnected. Even Democratic primary voters and Republican primary voters agree on many of these elements. I would always talk about a smart wall and how we should have operational control of our border. We need to know everything that's coming back and forth across the border. From when I first started talking about this, a lot of new technologies have been deployed — the official term now is Integrative [Fixed] Tower system. And look, there was a bipartisan agreement which was the USA Act that [California Democratic Rep.] Pete Aguilar and I worked on, which would have implemented border control measures and created a fix for DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] recipients. (The bill stalled in Congress.)

JD: In 2007, then-President George W. Bush was unable to get immigration reform through Congress, despite his inroads with Latino voters during his 2004 reelection bid. What will it take to overcome some the biggest hurdles in advancing a bipartisan bill?

WH: The DREAM Act failed to get implemented under President [Barack] Obama. (The legislation would have given substantial legal protections to young immigrants brought to the US as children and a created a pathway to citizenship.) Six Democratic senators failed to get on board. There is a bill right now that could pass the House and would likely pass the Senate, even with the current makeup. Ultimately, Democratic leadership is — I think — afraid to work with normal Republicans to pass an immigration bill, just like Republican leadership was afraid to work with Democrats to pass immigration reform when we were in control. Everybody was afraid of dealing with the partisan edges of their parties.

JD: There has been wide coverage about the challenges that Democrats face in rural areas, even in a majority-Latino district like the 23rd where the party has traditionally done well. Former President Donald Trump improved on his performance with Latinos nationally, but it was even more pronounced in South Texas. You've spoken about border concerns and some elements of the Democratic Party calling for the abolition of ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] as reasons why some voters have shifted to the GOP. What else is happening here?

WH: They're [Democrats are] misreading the electorate. It's a broader symptom when — and let's take the House for example — 92 percent of congressional seats are decided in the primary. You only focus on those handful of primary voters. When Congresswoman [Alexandria] Ocasio-Cortez first won, there were only 30,000 people that voted in her primary. This is what Democrats get wrong. When you only focus on the furthest left of the party, you are going to have problems. The more moderate parts of the Democratic Party ... they're potentially afraid of primaries. This is the same problem that the Republican Party went through in 2010 and 2014 ... and some would say we're still dealing with now.

Republicans are taking back to the House period, full stop. I don't think anybody believes that that's not going to happen. The far left will say it's because "We haven't gotten our agenda done." No, it's because the electorate doesn't want you all to do the things that you're talking about doing. The fact that they can't comprehend that stems from thinking their district is a representation of the entire country.

JD: In your book, you wrote that it was "insane" for some Republicans to think that the party can't be competitive among a larger electorate. In Texas, Republicans passed a voting bill that sets a specific window for absentee voting and also bans localities from implementing 24-hour voting, among other measures. Do you think some of the more restrictive provisions are warranted?

WH: Here's my opinion on all of this stuff. Make it easier to vote. We should be able to have online registration to vote. We should be able to register and vote on the same day. If one county wants to have 24-hour voting and they have the resources to do that, great. But we should also be able to able confirm the identity of the person. All of these things can be true at the same time.

JD: Last month, you said that the US should be providing as much weaponry to Ukraine as they need in their fight against Russia. Is there anything that you think President Joe Biden's administration has done right regarding Ukraine, and do you have areas of improvement for them?

WH: There's a lot more that can be done is the best way to describe it. Everybody's looking at these talks in Turkey. The best time to help somebody is when there's momentum on their side and the momentum is on the Ukrainian side, but know this, the kind of death and destruction that the Russians have brought to Mariupol — they can bring that to any city in Ukraine. And so are we doing everything to prevent a massacre? We need get back to basic principles — stop death and destruction. And that means give the Ukrainians everything.

Why aren't we talking about how are we going to do a Marshall Plan for Ukraine and Eastern Europe? We need to be thinking about the rebuilds already. These are some of the areas where this administration could be doing a lot more and I don't see it.

JD: Is Trump's grip on the GOP loosening?

WH: Yes. President Trump was responsible for losing the White House, losing the House, and losing the Senate. Everybody thought that an endorsement from him was a surefire thing to getting elected. It's not. When you look at Republican primary voters when they get asked about whether his opinion on down-ballot candidates matter — the answer is basically no. He still has a loyal base. That's not going to change. But it's an overestimation of his power capabilities.