David Wilezol is the founder and president of Seventh Floor Strategies, a Washington, D.C. speechwriting and strategic communications firm.

From 2017-2021, David served as Chief Speechwriter to the Secretary of the U.S. State Department, helping Secretary Pompeo, Secretary Tillerson, and the entire State Department team deliver successful diplomatic outcomes for the American people. In 2019, David received the Secretary’s Superior Honor Award.

David was Secretary Pompeo’s writing partner on his 2023 New York Times bestselling memoir Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love.

David is currently a Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy at the American Foreign Policy Council. He is also an Advisory Council Member at the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue and was a 2023 Foundation for Defense of Democracies National Security Fellow. His work focuses on on Chinese technology issues, U.S.-China Strategic Competition, Iran and the Gulf, and U.S. foreign policy generally.

Prior to his State Department service, David wrote for former Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus. David started his career as a writer and radio producer for former U.S. Secretary of Education Bill Bennett. Their work together included co-authoring the book Is College Worth It? — an incisive look at the economics of higher education. They also collaborated on Tried by Fire, a history of the Christian church’s first thousand years.

David is a graduate of American University (B.A., History) and The Catholic University of America (M.A., Latin; Graduate Certificate, Ancient Greek). He has previously been a Claremont Institute Publius Fellow and Speechwriting Fellow.