Politico deputy executive editor Julia Marsh and senior executive editor Alex Burns sent out the following on Monday:
Team —
When we put out a call for a newsroom leader to guide a tight-knit team of relentless, high-performing reporters covering the intersection of law, politics and power, Sam Baker answered the call.
Sam joins us as POLITICO’s new senior legal editor. In his candidate memo, Sam promised to “be a force multiplier” by giving reporters autonomy while also ensuring accountability to produce their best possible work. His vision for the role impressed everyone who read it.
Sam comes to POLITICO from a senior leadership position at Axios, where he oversaw the publication’s flagship newsletters. He was drawn to POLITICO by the opportunity to lead a team that’s setting the agenda for legal coverage at a watershed moment.
He will partner closely with Deputy Legal Editor Isabel Dobrin, who’s done an excellent job leading major stories in recent weeks — from the latest Epstein emails release to transatlantic coordination around the Supreme Court tariff oral arguments. Together, Sam and Isabel will continue driving sharp, distinctive coverage that captures the full scope of the legal and political forces shaping the nation.
Sam not only deeply understands the key storylines that define this beat — as exemplified by Josh Gerstein, Erica Orden, Hassan Ali Kanu and Kyle Cheney’s deep dives into Trump’s U.S. attorneys’ gambit, Josh’s SCOTUS term opener on the Trump-Roberts relationship and Kyle’s cataloguing of rulings against the administration’s mandatory detention policy — he also connects the dots between the Justice Department’s reinvention, the increasing influence of the courts and the administration’s larger remaking of government.
With nearly 20 years of experience covering legal issues — including the Supreme Court and the Affordable Care Act in Washington — Sam is uniquely positioned to guide our coverage of the highest-stakes stories of the day.
In his memo, Sam recognized the chance to help POLITICO lean into its strengths, not just within the legal team but across the newsroom. He’s already thinking about how to balance a beat that demands scoops and breaking news with the bigger-picture pieces that help readers grasp the full scope of what’s happening in Washington and around the country.
Please join us in welcoming Sam to the newsroom! He’ll report to Julia when he starts in early December.
