Chad Pecknold

Chad C. Pecknold is an associate professor of systematic theology at The Catholic University of America. His faculty profile says he received a doctorate from Cambridge in 2005, joined the faculty in 2008 and is on leave for 2026–2028. His scholarship centres on Augustine, especially The City of God as a vision from which to critique the dynamics of Western civilisation.

Postliberalism. Pecknold is one of four co-founders of the Postliberal Order newsletter, with Patrick Deneen, Gladden Pappin and Adrian Vermeule, according to the Los Angeles Review of Books. The National Catholic Register reported that he has argued border defence is consistent with Catholic teaching and necessary for the common good, and that he called the U.S. bishops' position on birthright citizenship a logical error. The National Catholic Reporter described him as a postliberal thinker with ties to Viktor Orbán and JD Vance and reported that, in a 2025 interview, he likened the Trump–Orbán relationship to that of Reagan and Thatcher.

Department of Homeland Security (2026). In September 2026 OSV News reported that DHS had confirmed on 11 September that it had hired Pecknold and that he had taken leave from teaching. The Register gave his title as principal director of public outreach in DHS's Office of Public Engagement, a role his LinkedIn profile says began in August and focuses on cultural outreach; America placed him in the Office for Partnership and Engagement. The Register noted that the appointment came amid conflict between the U.S. bishops and the administration over immigration enforcement; Pecknold told the paper that serving was an honour. According to The Tower, the university's student newspaper, Catholic University said faculty who enter government service do so in a personal capacity and pause their teaching. Commonweal published an essay arguing that his university role carries church responsibilities that warrant scrutiny of the new post.