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Ben Jacobs

Contributor, Intelligencer

Ben Jacobs is a reporter in Washington, D.C. He has covered four presidential campaigns and countless federal and state elections as well as Capitol Hill, the White House, and the Supreme Court.

  1. early and often
    A Weird Confirmation Hearing Even for RFK Jr.Botched answers and baby onesies.
  2. early and often
    President-Elect Donald Trump Meets With Biden, Congressional Leaders In Washington
    The Real Speaker Isn’t Mike JohnsonWelcome to Trump’s House.
  3. early and often
    House Passes Plan To Fund Government As Shutdown Deadline Nears
    The Republican Party Is Out of ControlMike Johnson can’t keep his conference together and Trump can’t scare them into submission. Can the GOP be governed?
  4. early and often
    Donald Trump Campaigns In Pennsylvania Ahead Of US Presidential Election
    The Evolution of the Trump RallyRarely boring, always changing, and essential to understanding his appeal.
  5. early and often
    The Last Stand of the Never TrumpersWhat does it mean to be a Republican for Kamala Harris?
  6. early and often
    Elon Musk’s Out-of-This-World Political RallyGoing full MAGA with the aspiring Martian.
  7. early and often
    Wisconsin’s Trump Democrats Could Determine the ElectionThis is where white working-class voters remain up for grabs.
  8. early and often
    The Revenge of Arizona’s McCain RepublicansThey’ve become one of the most critical voting blocs in the country.
  9. vance-walz debate
    Republican Insiders Were Thrilled by J.D. Vance’s DebateEven when he refused to admit Trump lost in 2020.
  10. early and often
    The Election Could Come Down to … Omaha?A blue dot in a red state has extraordinary importance this year.
  11. early and often
    The Election Will Be Decided HerePennsylvania is everything, and the race between a MAGA congressman and a Democrat says a lot about how it might go.
  12. 2024 dnc
    ‘Hotties for Harris’ Is Where the DNC Gets HornyDancing under Kamala GIFs in Chicago.
  13. 2024 dnc
    Josh Shapiro Was Snubbed, But He Isn’t Showing ItPassed over for 2024, Pennsylvania’s governor is in Chicago working on 2028.
  14. the beltway
    Republican Operatives Are ‘Thrilled’ Tim Walz Is the VP PickAll-important Pennsylvania is still winnable, they say. “We’re just so grateful to Kamala.”
  15. early and often
    Kamala Harris Campaigns In Pennsylvania On Eve Of Election Day
    Spoiler Alert: Kamala Harris Will Win the NominationEven if there are other credible candidates. Party rules already make her nearly unbeatable.
  16. 2024 rnc
    The 2024 Republican National Convention
    Republicans Are Waiting for Kamala Harris and Fearing Michelle ObamaThe talk of the RNC is what’s happening to the other party.
  17. 2024 rnc
    It Was Losers Night at the RNCOne by one, Trump’s former rivals kissed the ring.
  18. 2024 rnc
    At the RNC, You Can Get a Motorcycle for Opposing Trans AthletesOne of the many sideshows at the Republican convention.
  19. 2024 rnc
    The 2024 Republican National Convention
    The Moment J.D. Vance Became Trump’s Official VP PickWith tears in his eyes and an awkward kiss with his wife, he became the heir apparent to MAGA.
  20. early and often
    Senate candidate JD Vance campaigns in Boardman
    J.D. Vance Explains His Conversion to MAGATrump’s man in Ohio once called him “America’s Hitler,” but there’s an explanation.
  21. trump rally shooting
    Ronald Reagan Just Before Assassination Attempt
    The Secret Service Agent Who Caught a Bullet for Reagan on the Trump ShootingThe last time such a high-profile politician was shot was in 1981, when Tim McCarthy stood between John Hinckley and Ronald Reagan.
  22. early and often
    DNC Biden Stakeout
    How the Democratic Movement to Dump Biden Went BustWith a vibe fitting for a funeral, lawmakers in Washington decide by default to keep their nominee.
  23. trump-biden debate
    Republican Insiders Are Ecstatic About the Trump-Biden Debate“Trump was disciplined beyond what I could have expected.” Biden not so much.
  24. early and often
    Brandon Herrera Campaign Rally
    Uvalde’s Next Congressman Might Be a GunfluencerIn the latest battle of the Republican civil war, a Texas moderate is challenged by “The AK Guy.”
  25. early and often
    House House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks to reporters following votes on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Anna Rose Layden/The New York Times)
    Why Mike Johnson Finally Ditched Marjorie Taylor Greene and the Far Right“I thought it was a profile in courage to do the right thing and be on the right side of history,” explained one House GOP colleague.
  26. early and often
    Jury Deliberations Continue In The Corruption Trial Of Sen. Menendez (D-NJ)
    Can New Jersey’s Dying Political Machine Save One Menendez?The senator’s son in Congress has a tough primary challenge.
  27. early and often
    Donald Trump at the 2024 CPAC
    Calling Himself a ‘Political Dissident,’ Trump Pitched Regime Change at CPACThis year’s CPAC was like a January 6 reunion, and Donald Trump leaned into the rhetoric of revolution in his keynote address.
  28. early and often
    Elise Stefanik waves from the stage at the annual CPAC meeting.
    Elise Stefanik Auditions to Be Trump’s VP at CPACThe once-moderate congresswoman has become a top Trump veepstakes candidate and the MAGA faithful received her with open arms.
  29. early and often
    Why Did Anyone Think They Could Beat Donald Trump?The two best chances are over and there won’t likely be a third.
  30. early and often
    Ron DeSantis Finally Puts Campaign Out of Its MiseryThe Trump alternative bows down to Trump.
  31. early and often
    How Donald Trump Destroyed Ron DeSantis and Nikki HaleyIs the race already over?
  32. early and often
    Ron DeSantis Is Being Left Out in the ColdIowa is poised to be the first and last stand of the Florida governor’s presidential campaign.
  33. early and often
    Nikki Haley Is the Front-Runner for Second PlaceHer Iowa momentum is real, but is it enough?
  34. early and often
    The Plan to Get New Hampshire Liberals to Vote for Nikki HaleyIf Donald Trump loses the first-in-the-nation primary, this could be why.
  35. early and often
    George Santos Is Going Out in the Most George Santos Way PossibleIn what one member of Congress likened to a “public crucifixion,” he got to play martyr.
  36. early and often
    The Blood Feud Between New York Republicans and George SantosHis own neighbors are leading the charge to expel him from Congress.
  37. early and often
    Mike Johnson, the Nice Guy Who Finished FirstRepublicans finally find a Speaker they don’t hate: an arch social conservative who tried to overturn the 2020 election.
  38. early and often
    Republicans Started a Civil War They Don’t Know How to EndKnocking off Speaker candidates is easy, but electing one is impossible so far.
  39. early and often
    Jim Jordan Didn’t Just Lose. The Hard Right Did Too.The latest from the House Republican tire fire.
  40. early and often
    The House Republicans Are in a Hell of Their Own MakingAll they need to do is elect a Speaker. The one thing they definitely can’t do is agree on a Speaker.
  41. early and often
    The Race for Speaker Is About to Get RealSteve Scalise and Jim Jordan face off in the Capitol Thunderdome. Here’s how they match up and who else might win the gavel if chaos ensues again.
  42. early and often
    Kevin McCarthy Suffers a Historic HumiliationThe House Speaker loses his job thanks to the far-right he appeased in the first place.
  43. early and often
    Matt Versus GoliathHow a nuisance became a mortal threat to Kevin McCarthy’s Speakership.
  44. politics
    How Jamaal Bowman Tried to Spin Pulling a Capitol Hill Fire AlarmThe New York Democrat claims he was in a rush to vote and thought the fire alarm would open a locked door in his way.
  45. early and often
    Kevin McCarthy Traded One Crisis For AnotherThe Speaker will now face a “motion to vacate” by Florida congressman Matt Gaetz and his hard-right allies in the House.
  46. early and often
    Republicans Held an Impeachment Hearing and It Turned Into a Clown ShowIt started with star witnesses opposing Biden’s removal, and it got worse from there.
  47. early and often
    Sidelined and Self-Sabotaged: What The Last Politician Says About Kamala HarrisFranklin Foer’s deep dive on the Biden administration offers new details about the vice-president’s difficulties racking up accomplishments.
  48. early and often
    It’s Payback Time for the House Far RightAccused of betrayal over the debt-ceiling deal, Kevin McCarthy is losing power to a group of rebels who show no sign of giving up.
  49. early and often
    Kevin McCarthy Really Did ItThe debt-ceiling deal passed the House by sweeping bipartisan margins, leading the Speaker to dunk on his haters.
  50. early and often
    The Quirky Conservative Who Saved the Economy and McCarthyThomas Massie broke with fellow far-right Republicans, who are determined to make the House Speaker hurt.
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