I am delighted to announce that Luke Nicastro has joined The American Conservative as senior editor, effective July 1, 2026. Nicastro joins the magazine having most recently served as national security advisor to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO).  

Nicastro will be known to close readers as a talented contributor to the firm for years; he now joins TAC full-time. 

I have known Luke personally for close to two decades. In that time, I have encountered one of the most careful and charismatic intellects around. 

Before working with the senator, Nicastro was a defense policy analyst with the Congressional Research Service, was employed at the Department of the Navy, and consulted for State Department clients. He has a masters in international relations from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s from the College of William & Mary. 

As with most of our full-time roster, Nicastro will be based in the Washington, DC metro area. You can look forward to his columns and contributions immediately.