Philip Rucker is the National Editor for The Washington Post, leading the staff covering Washington, national security, politics, criminal justice, U.S. news, federal courts, health, science, race, immigration and other topics.

Rucker previously served as Deputy National Editor, Senior Washington Correspondent and White House Bureau Chief, leading The Post’s award-winning coverage of Donald Trump’s presidency. Rucker was part of the team of Post reporters awarded the Pulitzer Prizes and George Polk Awards in 2022 for coverage of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, and in 2018 for coverage of Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. He also has received the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for distinguished reporting on the presidency and the White House Correspondents’ Association’s Aldo Beckman Award for overall excellence in White House coverage.

Rucker joined The Post in 2005 as a local news reporter and has covered Congress, the Obama White House, and the 2012, 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, as well as national breaking news. He has reported for The Post from all 50 states and dozens of countries. Rucker is co-author, with Carol Leonnig, of two No. 1 New York Times bestselling books: “A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump’s Testing of America” (2020) and “I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump’s Catastrophic Final Year” (2021). He also is a Political Analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. Rucker graduated with a degree in history from Yale University, where he served as a reporter and editor at the Yale Daily News.

Rucker briefed National Press Foundation fellows in January 2025: Washington Journalism’s ‘Essential Ingredient’: Deep Sourcing.