Retired U.S. Navy SEAL Morgan Luttrell, the twin brother of fellow Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, is running for a U.S. congressional seat in the Houston, Texas area.
Luttrell launched his campaign in June for Texas’ eighth congressional district. The district covers parts of Conroe and Livingston and the western edge of Houston.
Luttrell is running as a Republican, seeking to replace Republican Rep. Kevin Brady, who announced he would not be seeking reelection in 2022.
According to his biography, Luttrell went to Sam Houston State University out of high school and earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology, “but he found his calling when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy to become a Navy SEAL.”
Luttrell went on from Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL training (BUD/S) to Officer Candidate School (OCS), where he was a top graduate. Luttrell went on to lead fellow SEALs as a Naval Special Warfare Officer.
In 2005, Luttrell’s twin brother Marcus was deployed in Afghanistan with three other SEALS in a mission known as Operation Red Wing. During the mission, Marcus’ team was ambushed by Taliban militants and called in backup from a CH-47 Chinook helicopter carrying eight more SEALs and eight 160th Army Special Operations Aviation Regiment (160th SOAR “Night Stalkers”) Aviators. Marcus’ three teammates were killed in the fighting on the ground and the Chinook helicopter was shot down, killing all those on board. Marcus was injured in the fighting but only escaped and survived with the help of friendly Afghan civilians. His survival was the subject of his book “Lone Survivor”, which was adapted into a 2013 feature film.
In 2009, Morgan Luttrell also survived a deadly helicopter crash but suffered a broken back and a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Luttrell was determined to return to service and ultimately rehabilitated from his injuries and returned to frontline service.
Luttrell ultimately left the Navy in 2014 after 14 years of service.
Since leaving the Navy, Luttrell has gone on to support fellow veterans recovering from PTSD and TBIs. Luttrell went on to earn an advanced degree in applied cognition and neuroscience at the University of Texas at Dallas and went on to create a health and wellness platform helping veterans heal from their physical and psychological injuries. Morgan has also worked with the Boot Campaign, a Texas-based non-profit that raises funds for veteran and military causes.
In 2017, Luttrell’s work with Boot Campaign caught the attention of then-Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and he was appointed as Special Advisor of Veteran Relations for the Department of Energy.
If elected, Luttrell would follow in the footsteps of other SEAL veterans who have gone on to serve in Congress, including Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) and former Reps. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) and Scott Taylor (R-VA).
Luttrell has joined other SEALs running for Congress in recent, including Derrick Van Orden, Brady Duke, Eli Crane and Zinke, who is running once again for Congress after he left office in 2017 to serve as the Secretary of the Interior under President Donald Trump.
Twice now, Luttrell and his fellow SEALs have participated in a joint interview with Fox News, where they have criticized President Joe Biden for his handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and for leaving U.S. citizens and Afghan allies behind in the country.
