WASHINGTON — Data analytics and security company Palantir announced Thursday that it has hired former Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher as head of its defense business.
Gallagher, a Green Bay Republican who was one of Congress’ leading defense and foreign policy hawks and who retired from his northeastern Wisconsin congressional seat in April, will head the company’s defense division, according to a spokesman for the Green Bay Republican. He had served as chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
Shortly after announcing his intention to retire, he joined venture capital firm Titletown Tech in May after previously being linked to Palantir, the company founded by Peter Thiel, and the conservative think tank Hudson Institute.
A spokesman for Gallagher said Thursday that Gallagher will remain a distinguished fellow at Hudson but did not respond to questions about his status at Titletown Tech. Gallagher’s move was first reported by Defense One.
The company said in a statement that it was expanding its influence. Palantir CEO Alex Karp said in a statement that Gallagher’s “unique talents have helped shape policy toward America’s adversaries.”
Gallagher called Palantir “a major technology company that will not compromise on the defense of the Western world.” Palantir’s data services are used by the U.S., corporations and other governments, including in the security and defense sectors.
Gallagher has been active on foreign policy in Congress, and in recent years has made preventing conflict between China and Taiwan a top priority, promoting a policy of deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world.
When he announced his retirement earlier this year, he told the Journal Sentinel that his future work would be aligned with national security goals and would focus on defense policy.
“My mission is to prevent World War III. I have dedicated myself to restoring conventional deterrence to prevent war with China, so whatever I do next will be an extension of that mission,” he said at the time.
