Joel Martin Rubin (born April 8, 1971) is an American politician and media commentator on domestic political and Middle East affairs.

He served as a member of the Chevy Chase Town Council from 2017 to 2023, and previously worked as a senior State Department official in the Obama administration.

[16][6] Rubin was a surrogate for the 2012 Barack Obama presidential campaign; an advocate for the Iran nuclear deal as the Policy Director for Ploughshares Fund; and as a commentator on the 2012 Benghazi attack.

[18] Rubin frequently comments on foreign policy and congressional politics for networks such as Fox News, MSNBC, BBC, Al Jazeera.

[24] He received endorsements from the Montgomery County Education Association and NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland during his campaign,[25] but was defeated in the Democratic primary, placing fifth with 11.2 percent of the vote.

[28] On July 24, 2023, Rubin announced that he would run for Congress in Maryland's 6th congressional district in 2024, seeking to succeed outgoing U.S. Representative David Trone.

[31] During his tenure at the U.S. State Department, Rubin worked to prevent Congress from passing a resolution of disapproval of the Iran Nuclear Deal with a veto-proof majority.

[7] During his 2016 congressional campaign, Rubin said he supported raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, increasing infrastructure spending, and strengthening Social Security and Medicare by removing the cap on payroll taxes.

[32] He also spoke against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, citing concerns over protections for workers at home and abroad,[33] and said he supported moving funding away from the U.S. Department of Defense and toward education.