Politico names eight to White House team

Politico editor in chief Carrie Budoff Brown sent out the following announcement on Wednesday:

Hi all —

POLITICO is proud to announce our dynamic new White House team — which will be led by Sam Stein, who picked a helluva first few weeks to dive right in, and Emily Cadei, who skillfully led our
transition coverage and has been a living embodiment of the #OnePolitico mindset.

Dozens of our reporters across our politics and policy teams will also touch on every aspect of Joe Biden’s presidency, from the promises he made to voters to the political calculations inside his
West Wing to the agencies he is now tasked with leading. So much of our success in covering the transition stemmed from deep collaboration across newsroom teams, and it’s imperative that we
keep up that spirit of cooperation and tip-sharing as we enter another competitive news environment.

There’s no group of journalists in Washington better sourced or better poised to chronicle the Biden era, and our new White House team will be at the core of that coverage:

Laura Barrón-López, who delivered ahead-of-the-curve coverage on race and politics in the 2020 election, will spend considerable time on Capitol Hill and at the White House focusing on the power
dynamics between the two. Drawing on her deep knowledge of progressive activism, she’ll also track White House relations with outside groups and movements.

Natasha Bertrand, fresh from a great run on the Mueller and intelligence beats, will be covering national security through a White House lens, tracking the National Security Council and the broader making of U.S. foreign policy and national security.

Chris Cadelago is joining the White House team after covering Kamala Harris and Joe Biden during the campaign. Nobody knows Harrisland better than Chris, and he’ll continue to follow the new vice president closely as she enters office and calibrates her political aspirations. Chris also will be watching the Biden presidency wrestle with a momentous challenge: how to keep a governing majority in power over the next four years.

Eugene Daniels, who joins the beat after turning heads as a video journalist, will play a hybrid role on the team. His primary platform will be Playbook, but he’ll also be a member of the White House
family — following the circle around Vice President Kamala Harris, the first-ever Second Gentleman, and the East Wing.

Natasha Korecki, a dominant force on the Biden campaign beat who repeatedly broke big stories, will cover the broad arc of the Biden presidency and his inner circle. Based in Chicago but a frequent visitor to Washington, she’ll have an unmatched perspective on the White House, rooted in the part of the country that powered Biden’s victory.

Anita Kumar returns from four grueling years on the Trump beat as a correspondent and associate editor. Our in-house expert on the institution of the presidency and a player-coach for the team, Anita is gearing up for her third White House stint. She’ll have sub-beats on immigration, ethics and the counsel’s office. As a White House Correspondents Association board member, Anita will also
assist on White House logistics, including travel and pool duty.

Tyler Pager, a whirling dervish of a reporter who joined us from Bloomberg News and has laid down an impressive body of work in just a few short weeks at POLITICO, will focus on internal West
Wing dynamics. He’ll also play a leading role in our coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, working closely with the health team.

Alex Thompson, a standout on the 2020 presidential campaign team, leads Transition Playbook, which he’s helped forge into a must-read on the turbulent weeks between Election Day and
Inauguration. He’ll continue to helm that newsletter, while increasingly turning his attention to the nomination fights and West Wing imbroglios yet to come.

Please join us in congratulating the team – and send them tips, encouragement and plenty of beverages of their choosing.