Announcement from National Editor Matea Gold, Deputy National Editor Philip Rucker and Senior Politics Editor Dan Eggen:
We are very happy to announce that John Wagner will be the next editor of the politics breaking news team, bringing his extensive experience in national politics, seasoned news judgment and instincts for quick-turn coverage to this essential role.
John, who has worked at The Post since 2004, was the first reporter on the politics breaking news team when it was launched in 2018 and helped shape a model for live coverage adopted across the newsroom. He has played a role in reporting on virtually every major political story of the past five years, including the 2020 presidential election, two consequential midterm elections, two impeachments of a president, three Supreme Court confirmations and the hearings of the House committee on the Jan. 6 attack.
Before that, John covered the Trump White House and the 2016 presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. (A picture of him interviewing Sanders while sitting next to a pond in New Hampshire appears in one of the senator’s books.) John spent his early years at The Post in Annapolis, covering Maryland politics during a stretch when casino gambling, the death penalty and same-sex marriage were contentious issues.
John got his start in journalism at the (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer, covering city hall and state government. He later worked in the paper’s Washington bureau, covering the final years of Sen. Jesse Helms (including his first rock concert at age 79) and the 2004 presidential campaign of Sen. John Edwards.
John is a native of St. Louis and attended Stanford University. He remains a fan of Cardinals baseball (which is very challenging this year) and Cardinal football (which is challenging most years).
