The Heritage Foundation announced the hiring of Will Ruger, a leading critic of U.S. military engagement who served as a key deputy to former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, as a distinguished fellow. 

The conservative think tank announced on Monday that Ruger’s new role “will contribute to policy work, bringing the perspective of a scholar-practitioner” to the Heritage team. 

Before his government service, Ruger, an Afghan war veteran, was an outspoken critic of U.S. military engagement in the Middle East and a defender of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.  Ruger defended Israel’s war in Gaza as “justified” given Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks but was also a vocal opponent of both the maximum pressure sanctions campaign against Iran and potential U.S. military operations against the regime. 

News of Ruger’s hiring at Heritage comes months after he was fired from his Trump administration post, which involved overseeing the president’s daily intelligence briefing, by then-acting DNI Bill Pulte in late June — in what was described at the time as a series of cuts targeting “deep state” operatives. President Donald Trump directed Pulte to enact further cuts at the agency in addition to those done by Gabbard prior to her departure, according to CBS News.

Ruger was previously affiliated with the isolationist Defense Priorities think tank before joining the Trump administration last year He also served as president of the libertarian American Institute for Economic Research, which has been a staunch opponent of Trump’s tariff policies. 

Ruger was nominated to serve as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan toward the end of the first Trump administration, though he was not confirmed by the Senate.