Politico hires Bikales to cover energy

Politico deputy managing editor Bob King sent out the following to the staff on Monday night:

We’re thrilled to announce an exciting addition to the POLITICO energy team, augmenting our reporting firepower as we expand our ambitions on energy and climate coverage.

James Bikales joins us today as the author of Morning Energy, our must-read daily newsletter for Pro Energy subscribers, and as a reporter covering the revolutionary implications of the rise of electric vehicles.

 James is no stranger to POLITICO. Many of you will remember him as an intern on the transportation team in the summer of 2021, when he stalked lawmakers in the Capitol and helped author the Morning Transportation newsletter. His story examining a politically divisive proposed fee on car and truck drivers became one of the most-read stories on the POLITICO site at the time.

More recently, he wrote for The Washington Post’s general assignment desk and travel vertical as an intern and Bradlee Fellow, covering topics including the death of Queen Elizabeth II and a stowaway cat detected by the TSA. 

He has also interned for CalMatters, The Hill and the power company Portland General Electric. At Harvard, where he received a degree in government last year, James served as managing editor of the Harvard Crimson, guiding the paper through a pandemic semester and an eventual return to print production. His time at the Crimson also included an eight-month investigation into faculty sexual harassment in Harvard’s anthropology department. 

James grew up in Portland, Ore., and is a longtime fan of the Trail Blazers. He now lives in the District, where you’ll often find him riding and memorizing public transit routes. You might also catch him running and trying to play tennis for the first time since high school.

 Please join us in giving James a warm welcome to POLITICO.