Pratik Chougule is a freelance writer based in Washington DC. He was previously an executive editor at The American Conservative and managing editor of The National Interest. During the 2016 presidential elections, Chougule served as the policy coordinator on the campaigns of Donald Trump and Mike Huckabee. Chougule has assisted a number of senior government officials with the writing and research of their memoirs, including former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad, and former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith. He has contributed to projects for the Trilateral Commission, the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, and Baron Public Affairs. From 2008 to 2009, Chougule was a George. W. Bush appointee at the U.S. Department of State in the office of the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, where he served as staff assistant to acting Under Secretary John C. Rood. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brown University and holds a J.D. from Yale Law School.